The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment launched the Vietnam National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP) in Hanoi on Dec. 23 with the aim of meeting the country’s commitments to mitigating plastic waste pollution and moving forward with building a circular economy. 

Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung addresses the launch ceremony. ((Photo: VGP)

Vietnam currently generates approximately 22 million tonnes of domestic solid waste, of which roughly 10% is plastic, and the figure is constantly increasing, thereby posing a significant threat to the local ecological environment.

Through the NPAP, international organisations will move to assist the Government in efforts to drastically reduce plastic waste and at the same time develop a roadmap in order to discard single-use plastic products and hard-to-decompose nylon bags in urban, coastal, and marine protected areas.

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung emphasised that the event reaffirms the country’s commitment for economic development to run alongside environmental protection, with the view of never exchanging the environment for economic growth at all costs.

According to Deputy PM Dung, marine pollution, especially those that originate from plastic waste, has negatively affected the marine ecosystem, public health, economic, and tourism sectors, along with the society in general.

“It’s high time we acted together to drastically and effectively change the model of production and consumption of traditional plastic products in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly manner,” stressed Deputy PM Dung.

The Deputy PM added that since 2018 the Government has actively participated in and proactively proposed co-operation mechanisms on plastic waste reduction through a number of regional and international forums.

The country has also put forward many action programmes aimed at tackling plastic waste pollution, receiving strong support from people of all social strata. In addition, the National Assembly has recently passed the 2020 revised Law on Environmental Protection, a move which will add regulations to minimise, reuse, recycle, and treat plastic waste.

This will therefore lay an important legal foundation for Vietnam to strengthen its management, reuse, recycling, treatment, and reduction of plastic waste, as well as to promote international co-operation in this field.

“The Vietnamese Government will create favourable conditions for the Vietnam National Plastic Action Partnership to be successfully implemented, becoming a role model for sustainable management and use of plastics,” said the Deputy PM.