In his opening speech, Dr. Nguyen Trung Thang - Deputy Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment said: Global plastic pollution has been causing serious consequences for the environment and marine life, as well as affecting many economic and social issues. It is estimated that every year about 4.8-12.7 million tons of plastic are dumped into the world's oceans. Globally, 32% of packaging waste is leaking into the environment.
A World Bank report shows that each year, about 3.9 million tons of PET, LDPE, HDPE and PP plastic are consumed in Vietnam. Of this, 1.28 million tons (33%) are recycled and up to 2.62 million tons of plastic are discarded, that is, not recycled, leading to a loss of 75% of the material value of plastic, equivalent to 2.2 - 2.9 billion USD per year.
Vietnam has issued policies and legal regulations prohibiting and restricting the use of disposable plastic products and non-degradable plastic bags, typically the Law on Environmental Protection Tax, the Law on Environmental Protection and documents guiding the implementation of the Law. Preferential policies for environmentally friendly products and services include: incentives on capital sources, technology, land allocation, land lease, environmental protection tax, and corporate income tax. Recently, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued Decision No. 3257/2023/QD-BTNMT dated November 7, 2023 on the Vietnam Ecolabel criteria for environmentally friendly plastic packaging.
At the workshop, delegates and their presentations focused on clarifying the following contents: Overview of the market for plastic substitute products in Vietnam; policies and laws related to substitute products for disposable plastic products; difficulties and obstacles in the implementation of these regulations. From there, propose alternative solutions for disposable plastic products to meet environmental protection requirements in Vietnam as well as integration requirements in the coming period.
Sharing about the market of alternative products in Vietnam, Mr. Nguyen Le Thang Long - Chairman of the Association of Environmentally Friendly Product Manufacturers said: Currently, in the Vietnamese market, there are many types of environmentally friendly bags that are biodegradable, usually bags using alternative plant-based materials. Alternative food trays and containers such as bowls, plates, trays, cups are made from bamboo fiber, cassava flour, containers made from sugarcane bagasse... Alternative straws: made from rice, reeds, bamboo. Other solutions such as agricultural films, beeswax films, fruit stickers, water-soluble packaging,...
“Vietnam has abundant natural resources, along with that, Vietnam has built a policy framework and orientation for sustainable national development, which has been clearly realized. This creates a dynamic market with a lot of potential for development and conversion to environmentally friendly products,” Mr. Long commented.
Although Vietnam has had policies and laws related to products that replace disposable plastic, according to Mr. Nguyen Minh Khoa - an expert from the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment, the current mechanisms and policies to support the development of replacement products are still difficult to access and unclear. There are still many problems and inadequacies in applying environmental protection tax on plastic bags as well as contribution fees (EPR) of manufacturers and importers of products that replace disposable plastic. In addition, the high cost of producing replacement products makes it difficult to compete and the level of acceptance from consumers is not high due to obstacles in price, convenience and distribution channels.
To promote plastic alternatives, Mr. Nguyen Minh Khoa proposed that Vietnam should limit and eventually ban the production, import, and consumption of single-use plastic products according to the roadmap set by the Government. Increase taxes and fees to limit the production, import, and consumption of single-use plastic products. At the same time, there should be a mandatory minimum recycled content for single-use plastic products as well as regulations on standards for identifying environmentally friendly alternative products. Encourage and promote voluntary actions to limit the production and consumption of single-use plastic products.
In addition, there should be regulations on standards and recognition criteria for products that replace disposable plastic products. Specific guidance on access to capital, taxes, fees and incentives for businesses that produce and import alternative, environmentally friendly products. Propaganda and raising awareness of alternative products to consumers; support network building, innovative startups; domestic and international promotion and marketing activities.
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