Join hands to 'defeat' plastic pollution

Officers and employees of Samsung Electronics Vietnam Thai Nguyen Co., Ltd. participate in collecting waste in Tan Thanh commune (Phu Binh).

According to a United Nations report, the world produces about 300 million tons of plastic waste each year, of which about 13 million tons are dumped into the ocean. More specifically, about 1 million plastic bottles and 5,000 billion plastic bags are consumed every minute. Of the plastic waste, up to 79% is buried or thrown into the environment, 12% is burned and only 9% is recycled. What is worrying is that plastic waste cannot decompose in many environments and can last for hundreds of years, directly affecting the quality of life, human health and other living creatures.

As a country with a fast economic growth rate, Vietnam also faces many challenges with plastic waste pollution. Statistics show that on average, the country discharges about 1.8 million tons of plastic waste into the environment each year, most of which are plastic bags. On average, each household uses about one kilogram of plastic bags per month. More than 80% of them are discarded after a single use...

In order to gradually limit environmental pollution from plastic waste, since 2020, Thai Nguyen province has issued Directive No. 11/CT-UBND on strengthening the management, reuse, recycling, treatment and reduction of plastic waste in the province. The recommended contents are: Minimizing the use of non-degradable and single-use plastic products in agency activities; not using banners, slogans, bottles, cups and straws for single use at offices and in conferences, seminars, meetings, holidays, anniversaries and other events; prioritizing recycled and environmentally friendly products; classifying waste at source, arranging means and equipment for waste classification; promoting and raising awareness about reducing plastic waste; signing and implementing commitments to participate in the movement against plastic waste.

The province's active, practical and synchronous leadership in the "Anti-plastic waste" movement has achieved positive results, contributing greatly to changing people's awareness, creating a widespread habit in the community about handling and classifying waste at the source. Many effective models of anti-plastic waste have been replicated.

Notably, the youth union force with the model: "People's market without using plastic bags"; regularly organizes clean-up campaigns, collects plastic waste, maintains environmental protection models, exchanges waste for trees; Women's Unions at all levels deploy self-managed branches to classify household waste at the source, collect plastic waste to sell for money to help poor women and children, women go to the market with baskets; economical garbage bags...

From small, meaningful actions, a widespread movement has been gradually built, with the whole community joining hands to reduce plastic waste, contributing to building a greener, cleaner living environment.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202504/chung-tay-danh-bai-o-nhiem-nhua-1b51b24/