Vietnam to ban plastic bags from markets by 2030

Illustrative image (Photo: moitruongvadothi.vn)

Vietnam will ban the use of all plastic bags, even in wet markets, from 2030, according to an official of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Deputy head of the ministry’s Institute of Strategy and Policy on National Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) Nguyen Trung Thang said that currently, manufacturers are considering changes to technology to meet market demand and comply with State regulations.

Thang said over the past time, Vietnam has seen many positive signals in promoting the restriction of plastic bags.

He took the establishment of the Plastic Alliance's pilot project as an example.

Supermarkets begin using environmentally-friendly bags (Photo: VNA)

The Plastic Alliance gathers 16 retailers that pledge to reduce the use of disposable plastic bags. It is part of the “Rethinking Plastics - Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter in Vietnam” project funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Government, and carried out by Expertise France.

The alliance has stepped up communication programmes directed at retailers and on social media platforms to change consumer behaviour and reduce single-use plastic bags and plastic products.

According to an ISPONRE survey, up to 104,000 single-use plastic bags are used at supermarkets each day, equivalent to 38 million bags a year. Among the 48 supermarkets surveyed, 46 are providing plastic bags free of charge.

Therefore, Vietnam has set a target of using 100 percent environmentally-friendly bags at commercial centres and supermarkets by 2025.

To that end, many policies have been approved by the Vietnamese Government to limit plastic bags and single-use plastic products, including the National Strategy on Integrated Management of Solid Waste to 2025, with a vision to 2050.

The 2020 Law on Environmental Protection also stipulates the responsibility of manufacturers for waste recycling and treatment, and includes regulations on the reduction, recycling and treatment of plastic waste as well as prevention and control of ocean plastic waste./.