Retailers’ alliance launched to help reduce use of disposable plastic bags
Hanoi (VNA) – An alliance of retailers who pledged to reduce the use of disposable plastic
bags made its debut at a ceremony
held by the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural
Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade on
January 14.
Vice director of the institute Nguyen
Trung Thang said the two agencies have called on businesses to sign a
commitment to join the alliance in a bid to reduce the consumption of
single-use plastic products.
This is part
of activities within the framework of the “Rethinking Plastics - Circular Economy
Solutions to Marine Litter in Vietnam” project funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Government.
The 16-member alliance is the first initiative to bring together retailers, helping
them find a common voice in reducing the use of single-use plastic bags, towards protecting the environment and
promoting sustainable development in Vietnam, Thang said.
According to
Thang, the Prime Minister has issued a decision approving the scheme for strengthening
management of plastic waste in Vietnam, which set to use 100 percent of
environmentally friendly plastic bags and packaging at shopping centres and
supermarkets for domestic purposes as replacement for non-biodegradable plastic
bags; and collect, reuse, recycle and dispose 85 percent of generated plastic
waste.
Thang said the ISPONRE
will continue to coordinate with partners – the Vietnam
Packaging Recycling Alliance, the World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam, the Embassy of
the Netherlands in Vietnam, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, the Vietnam
National Plastic Action Partnership programme, the Vietnam Business for Environment (VB4E) Alliance, and the Asia Foundation to promote communication
activities to change public behaviour – in this field.
Acting Director of Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan said
the alliance will contribute to achieving the goal of reducing the use of disposable
plastic bags in retail stores, thus realising the goal of sustainable
production and consumption./.