Hanoi: A campaign promoting smart consumption and plastic waste reduction was launched at AEON Mall Ha Dong in Hanoi on January 24.

The programme was co-organised by the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE), World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam (WWF-Vietnam), and other partners including AEON Vietnam.

At the launch ceremony, ISPONRE Deputy Director Nguyen Trung Thang said the campaign aimed at mobilising widespread consumer participation in adopting measures to reduce plastic waste while shopping. The initiative seeks to shift consumer behaviour towards environmentally-friendly consumption, especially in the period leading up to the Lunar New Year holiday (called Tet in Vietnamese).

According to Thang, during festive occasions like Tet, the volume of goods consumed often experiences a 15-30% increase, accompanied by a rise in the amount of single-use plastic products.

With the campaign taking place on January 24 and 25, customers are set to engage in various act
ivities as part of the campaign and try out recycled and environmentally-friendly items with high applicability in daily life.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, plastic waste pollution in Vietnam is alarmingly severe. On an annual average, the country disposes of approximately 1.8 million tonnes of plastic waste, including over 30 billion plastic bags, of which 80% are discarded after just a single use./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency