The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment held a conference in the central province of Phu Yen on December 14 to review one year of implementing a movement against plastic waste.

To reduce such pollution in Vietnam, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc launched a movement on “saying no” to plastic waste around the country in June last year. All ministries, agencies, and localities prepared their own action plans in response to the movement, in particular targeting disposable plastics and persistent organic pollutants.

More than a year later, the Packaging Recycling Organisation Vietnam and the Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance have been set up to improve the environment and encourage a lifestyle free of waste.

Participants discussed measures to fight plastic waste, including collecting, reusing, recycling, and treating waste, developing a circular economy, and encouraging production facilities to switch to eco-friendly technology.

General Director of the Vietnam Environment Administration Nguyen Van Tai suggested raising public awareness of this latest effort, including changing the habits of using disposable plastic products and regularly discharging waste into the environment.

Further attention must be paid to collecting and classifying waste in the near future, he said, adding that this would reduce plastic waste and improve production and trade.