VietNamNet Bridge – The number of plastic bags consumed in Vietnam is expected to decrease by 65 percent by 2020, compared to the previous decade.

Source: VNA

This is one of the targets of a project to control pollution caused by non-biodegradable plastics bags, which was recently approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Under the project, by 2015, the number of consumed plastic bags will drop by 20 percent in regular markets and by 40 percent in supermarkets and commercial centres.

The PM has asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) to ban the production of plastic bags thinner than 30 micrometres in order to make them easier to collect and recycle.

The MoNRE is also required to gather and recycle at least 25 percent of the waste from these plastic bags.

Relevant ministries, departments, and municipal and provincial authorities need to work out ways to classify waste and are encouraged to use recycled products made from plastic bags, especially in building public facilities.

Communication campaigns will be intensified to raise public awareness of the harmful impacts of plastic bags on the environment.

The public will be encouraged to use bags made from environmentally friendly materials more widely.

Source: Vietnam Plus