Rethinking Plastics: Reducing the use of plastic waste in Vietnam and combating marine pollution

Along with the rapid economic development in Vietnam in recent decades, there has been a constant increase in the production of solid waste, including plastic waste. Today, about 730,000 tonnes of plastic waste end up in the sea each year, and nearly 50% of plastic products are designed for single use and then thrown away.

The case of plastic bags is particularly striking. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, about 31.4 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year. Only 17% are reused and recycled. Without appropriate waste management systems, these single-use plastic items will soon end up in landfills or the environment.

Meanwhile, in cities, the percentage of plastic waste in the total amount of solid waste is increasing. This can be explained with a quick assessment of the Vietnamese population’s consumption habits: plastic use per capita went from 3.8 to 41.3 kilograms between 1990 and 2018.

To address this problem, the two main components of this project were to manage waste through a circular economy and promote a blue economy for marine conservation through an array of activities:  

• Strategic consulting activities, public policy dialogues and exchanges of knowledge  
• Pilot projects on the collection, sorting and recycling of packaging, the management of waste from ships, fishing for waste, as well as with traders and supermarkets.    

Find out more on the project website

Expertise France 2021-2022 Annual Report: for further information about the waste issue in Vietnam

Encouraging results on waste management and the creation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) sectors

In support of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Rethinking Plastics project has contributed to the development of the legal framework (Decree 08/ND-CD of 10/01/2022), incorporating provisions on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to supplement the Law on Environmental Protection (LEP) which was amended in 2020. EPR will be mandatory for six sectors, including the packaging sector, as of 2023. A toolkit for the operationalisation of the principle of EPR, translated into Vietnamese, the training of 70 experts and a study on the role of the informal sector and its integration in EPR have contributed to developing knowledge about this environmental policy instrument and to promoting the circular economy.

A handbook for plastic recycling companies and a feasibility study on standards and ecolabels for products containing recycled plastic have been produced to support the action plan on sustainable consumption and production (Decision 889/QD-TTg of 24 June 2020) of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In addition, the pilot project implemented by the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) has conducted a more detailed analysis of the institutional, technical and socioeconomic issues relating to the application of EPR in Vietnamese municipalities.

Solutions to improve the collection rate, sorting at source, traceability and the integration of the informal sector have been proposed to the national and local partners in order to reduce plastic pollution.

All these consultation activities with multiple stakeholders with varied interests have led to an ongoing dialogue to overcome the obstacles encountered among public authorities responsible for environmental management and economic actors in the plastic and recycling sector.

“We’ve been able to combine everyone’s interests and integrate our action in their missions through dialogue and by presenting results, tools, knowledge and concrete solutions tailored to the local context.” 

However, the sharing of EU experience (EPR regulations and models) has demonstrated the operationality and results of EPR in improving waste management and ultimately reducing plastic pollution. The creation of a national EPR platform at the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) has served to present and share French, and more generally European, expertise on this emerging subject and pool the efforts of the various international partners.

“The platform involved industries that will be subject to EPR at a very early stage, so it integrated the technical and financial difficulties of the implementation in a more realistic way and made it possible to build a more operational legal framework.”

There are broad prospects for improving and further developing the work conducted on the waste management component. The next stages include the structuring and governance of EPR sectors through the creation of the national EPR office, the design and launch of the national portal and the consolidation of a roadmap for the next three years.

“One of the major challenges is to associate and rally the other ministries, local authorities, operators (collection, sorting and recycling), as well as economic actors in order to organise EPR in a transparent and efficient way. Not to mention the mobilisation of consumers to integrate new practices.”

Towards the development and strengthening of a blue economy, respectful of marine ecosystems

In Vietnam, the component on the sustainable development of seas and oceans of the pilot project “Ship Waste Management in Vietnamese Ports” at the Cat Lai Terminal (Saigon NewPort, Ho Chi Minh City) aims to reduce the illegal dumping of ship waste at sea.

In this respect, the development of an effective mandatory online system of notification of waste by ships (type and volume of waste), reflection on an incentive-based cost recovery system (waste tax) and the development of a procedures manual (Ship Waste Management Manual, SWMM) aim to provide ships with efficient waste treatment services and facilitate administrative procedures for shipping agents.

The pilot project “Fishing for Litter” deployed in Phu Yen has engaged some 40 voluntary fishing boats in the collection and sorting of marine waste, with a view to a transition towards a circular economy.

“Procedures and methodologies for sorting, auditing and selling waste (20% of collected waste) have demonstrated the advances in awareness-raising and capacity. They have also raised new questions over viable economic models.”

Developments and extension projects are underway at the regional and national levels.

“Building on the high-quality partnership developed with Vinamarine (Vietnam Maritime Administration) and the prospects for the replicability of the pilot activities at national level, a regional ASEAN cooperation project is emerging on waste management in ports. By the end of 2022, a feasibility study financed by AFD will make it possible to define a regional strategy for ship waste management. This will lead to harmonised and effective waste management systems for ASEAN Member States.”

One of the specific characteristics of the action in Vietnam is that it has been carried out jointly with GIZ, the German cooperation agency, which has implemented similar projects in parallel in other countries in the Southeast Asia region. Cooperation between agencies is central to the “Team Europe” approach and aims to benefit the missions carried out in the field. It paves the way for even more effective joint work in the countries of operation in the future.

“The collaboration with GIZ has been very rewarding, on both a technical and human level, in particular during the Covid period. We’ve been able to coordinate our expertise, our networks and assist our partners in a complementary manner throughout the project, as part of a real Team Europe. The support from the European Union Delegation to Vietnam and its involvement on the ground have created a real sense of confidence with our institutional and technical partners. This also makes this project stand out.”