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The Crisis of Plastic Waste in Vietnam is Real
Abstract
The issue of "white pollution" at popular tourist destinations of environmental pollution is rising at an alarming rate. According to statistics, Vietnam currently ranks fourth in the world in volume of plastic waste, with approximately 730,000 tons of plastic waste going to the sea every year. Vietnam is also known as a country with twice the amount of plastic waste compared to low-income countries. Plastic waste in the ocean will destroy the natural environment, negatively affecting the lives of aquatic products. On land, plastic waste is abundant in many places and has serious impacts on human health and life. Analysts point out that, if the pace of use of plastic products continues to increase, there will be an additional 33 billion tons of plastic produced by 2050 and thus more than 13 billion tons of plastic waste will be buried. backfill into landfills or into the ocean. Meanwhile, the recycling of Vietnam's plastic waste, has not been developed. The rate of waste sorting at the source is very low, most types of waste are put together and collected by waste trucks. Plastic recycling technology used in Vietnam's major cities is outdated, low in efficiency, high in costs and polluting the environment. The paper presents the current situation of plastic waste in Vietnam as of June 2019. The authors focus on highlighting the serious "white pollution" in Vietnam, a country with a very long coastline. But the coast is really threatened by plastic waste. This is really a wake-up call to the authorities about the promulgation of policies and the people on the morality of survival with nature.
... Vietnam's per capita plastic consumption has increased by 41.3 kg in the past 28 years, from 3.8 kg. In particular, the daily accumulation of single-use plastic that cannot be recycled and must be interred reaches 80 tons in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the two largest cities in Vietnam [3], [4]. There are preparations underway to eliminate single-use plastic from convenience stores, supermarkets, and urban markets by 2021, and the entire nation by 2025. ...
Long An High School in Tan An, Long An, Vietnam, undertook a study to examine the generation and physical composition of solid and plastic waste. The study sampled 899 individuals, including officers, students, and teachers. Solid waste was classified into five primary categories and established three subcategories for plastic waste. The results showed that the average daily waste generation rate at Long An High School is 0.13 kg per student, including out-boarders who generate 0.028 kg per student, and boarding and part-boarding students who generate 0.18 kg/person/day. This rate is marginally lower than the waste generation rates observed in households. The analysis of plastic waste at the school indicated that it comprised 31% (35.65 kg/day) of the overall refuse generated. Boarding and part-boarding pupils generate a daily plastic waste generation rate of 0.055 kg, while out-boarders generate 0.01 kg per person. Long An Specialized High School receives recyclable plastic (46.5%), nylon bags (35.3%), and non-biodegradable polystyrene (foam delivery packaging) (18.2%) as its primary waste materials. Due to their lack of classification, these wastes are challenging to recycle. In terms of refuse generation per capita, male students produce 0.17 kg per male per day, while female students generate 0.15 kg per female per day, on average. Male students have an average discharge of 0.051 kg/male/day, which is 0.039 kg/female/day higher than female students' average discharges. In the case of plastic No. 6 (foam delivery boxes), male pupils emit three times more than female students.
... The mounting crisis of municipal solid waste, particularly plastic waste, presents an environmental challenge with far-reaching consequences (Shi et al., 2022;Truong and Vu, 2019;Zargar et al., 2023). As urban populations swell and consumption patterns intensify, the generation of solid waste escalates, giving rise to critical concerns over soil and water contamination, as well as the adverse impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem health (Ganesapillai et al., 2023;Rai et al., 2023;Sharma et al., 2023b;Sharma et al., 2023c). ...
... It is estimated that Viet Nam's post-consumer plastic waste will rise by 36% from 2018 levels by the year 2030. 1 Despite major commitments from the government, business and civil society, plastic waste leakage into the country's water bodies is expected to increase by 106% between 2018 and 2030, to 373,000 tonnes per year. 2 The intersectional gender context assessment report on the plastic value chain in Viet Nam is an initiative under the framework of the NPAP Viet Nam. Its aim is to highlight the gender and inclusion gaps and inequalities that exist throughout the plastic value chain, which can inform the development of gender-responsive and inclusive policy options for addressing plastic waste pollution in Viet Nam. ...
The intersectional gender context assessment report on the plastic value chain in Viet Nam is an initiative under the framework of the NPAP Viet Nam. Its aim is to highlight the gender and inclusion gaps and inequalities that exist throughout the plastic value chain, which can inform the development of gender-responsive and inclusive policy options for addressing plastic waste pollution in Viet Nam.
... Of the 3.6 million tons of plastic waste the country produces annually, only 10 to 15% is recycled [9]. Every year, Vietnam leaks 730,000 tons of plastic waste into the sea [10]. This dismal record has made the country one of the five biggest ocean plastic polluters, together with China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand [11]. ...
As one of the world's fastest-growing economies, Vietnam is tackling environmental pollution , particularly plastic waste. This study contributes to the literature on environmental culture and practical solutions by better understanding households' behaviours and motivations for (i) sorting waste, (ii) contributing to the environmental fund and (iii) relocating. The questionnaire-based interview method was used to randomly collect information from 730 households in 25 provinces in Vietnam during February 2022. Bayesian regression models, coupled with the mindsponge mechanism , were applied to analyse the data. The results showed that people's strategies and responses to plastic waste pollution vary: 38.63% of respondents were sorting waste at home, 74.25% of households agreed to contribute to the environmental fund, and 23.56% had a plan to relocate for a better living place. The households' strategies and intentions were driven by several structural and con-textual factors such as age of household head, income, care about the environment, and the perceived effects of polluted waste. More importantly, communication was a robust variable in sorting waste decisions, which suggested that better communication would help increase people's awareness and real actions in reducing plastic waste and ultimately improving the environment. These findings will benefit the ongoing green economy, circular economy, and green growth transition toward more sustainable development, particularly in developing and fast-population-growing countries.
... Of 3.6 million tons of plastic waste the country produces annually, only 10 to 15% is recycled (Hughes and Thinh, 2022). Every year, Vietnam leaks 730,000 tons of plastic waste into the sea (Truong and Vu, 2019). The dismal record has made the country one of the five biggest ocean plastic polluters, together with China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand (Merkl and Stuchtey, 2015). ...
As one of the world's fastest-growing economies, Vietnam is tackling environmental pollution, particularly plastic waste. According to a recently published report, the country is one of the world's top five marine polluters of plastic waste. This study contributes to the literature and practical solutions by better understanding households' perceptions, behaviours, and motivations for sorting waste, contributing to the environmental fund and relocating. The questionnaire-based interview method was used to collect information from 697 households in 25 provinces in Vietnam during February 2022. Statistical descriptive method and Bayesian regression model coupled with mindsponge mechanism were employed to explore and analyse the data. The findings show that people's strategies and responses to plastic waste pollution vary: 38.63% of respondents have been sorting waste at home, 74.25% agreed to contribute to the environmental fund, and 23.56% plan to relocate to find a better living place. The households' strategies and intentions are driven by many structural and contextual factors such as age, income, care about the environment, and the perceived effect of polluted waste. More importantly, communication is a robust variable in sorting waste decisions, which suggests that better communication would help increase people's awareness and real actions in reducing plastic waste and ultimately improving the environment. The findings of our study will benefit the ongoing green economy, circular economy, and green growth transition toward more sustainable development in Vietnam and beyond.
Although the informal sector of waste collection has an important role in income diversification for thepoor and contribution to waste recycling, this sector is still not recognised in any government officialpolicies and is usually underestimated in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. This paper employs a systemsthinking approach to analyse the crucial roles of the informal sector in solid waste management(SWM) system in Vietnam. From a circular economy viewpoint, the flow diagram was built for the firsttime, which could integrate the actors and activities of the informal sector into a wider SWM system inVietnam. The map focuses on analysing the contributions and activities of the informal sector, focusingon its roles and impacts on the recycling system. This paper then employed the systems thinkingapproach to further analyse the systematic problem of the informal sector. The analysis builds on the fieldsurvey including elements and key driving forces of the systems with 36 scrap dealers, 127 scrap buyers,and 760 households and in-depth interviews with experts in the Mekong Delta region, Vietnam. Based onthe practices and experience in waste-related activities of informal sector, this sector should be inte-grated into the general waste management process. With the relevance of informal systems, the author-ities could establish an effective waste recycling system, and improve the livelihoods and workingconditions of those involved, especially the poor.
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