Vietnam PM Requires Stricter Plastic Waste Management

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered tighter management over reuse, recycling, treatment, and reduction of plastic waste, local media reported. The government’s agencies have to devise plans on waste management by end-October, which aims to minimize plastic pollution and the use of single-use plastic and prioritize recycled and eco-friendly products. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has to complete an institution on solid waste management to promote models of the circular economy and restrict the production and consumption of single-use plastics, towards a total ban on those activities. The Ministry of Industry and Trade, together with the MoNRE, was entrusted with assessing current plastic waste management and submitting a plan on the establishment of an eco-industrial park to the PM, as well as closely following regulations on plastic waste imports. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance takes charge of draft amendments to the law on environmental protection tax, and put forward incentives to encourage recycling plastic waste and using eco-friendly materials and products. Other ministries and relevant agencies need to classify and reduce plastic waste in their respective fields, along with bolstering communications to raise public awareness. (Zing, Tuoi Tre, Bao Chinh Phu, en.Vietnam Plus)