Plastic bags are sold at a traditional market in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Hanoi aimsto reduce the use of plastic bags in the traditional markets, supermarkets andtrade centres to protect the environment as well as ensure the sustainabilityof the ecosystem.
This is the action plan of the Hanoi People’s Committee thataims to implement the sustainable production and consumption programme by 2020.
The city also plans to increase the percentage of enterprisesin industrial parks and complex applying eco-friendly technologies to 60-70 percent.
Under the plan, Hanoi will raise public awareness of the useof plastics, urge and educate enterprises to trade plastic products and nylonbags for recyclable materials instead.
Most of the city’s markets and supermarkets do not useeco-friendly plastic bags, the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper reported.
Do Thi Mai, a fruit shop in Linh Nam ward, Hoang Mai district,said she consumed over 1kg of nylon bags a day.
“I know using plastic bags will pollute the environment but Istill have to use every day because customers need. We will stop when there isa ban,” she said.
Regarding the use of plastic bags and the long-term effectsof them, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said plastic bagwaste has a serious impact on the environment and human health.
Vietnam is among the top five polluting countries worldwide,which together contribute as much as 60 percent of all plastic waste thatenters the world’s seas.
Only two large cities, Hanoi and HCM City discharge about 80 tonnes of plasticand plastic bags each day, of which most plastic bags are difficult todecompose, according to the ministry.
“If 10 percent of plastic waste is not recycled, the amountof plastic discharged in the country will reach 2.5 million tonnes per year,” arepresentative of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was quoted bythe newspaper as saying.
Traditional, non-biodegradable plastic bags are subject to anenvironmental tax of 40,000 VND (1.70 USD) per kg. Tax is set to increase to 50,000VND (2.10 USD) as of January 1, 2019 while plastic bags are sold at the marketsat 35-40,000 VND per kg.
Price of plastic bag is equivalent to environmentalprotection tax, tax loss is clear, the newspaper said.
Legal loopholes have enabled widespread tax evasion that hascaused huge financial losses for the State and limited the effectiveness of thetax.
To avoid tax losses with plastic bags, it is needed to amendthe regulations related to environmental protection tax, according to Pham DinhThi, Director of the Ministry of Finance’s Tax Policy Department.
Dr Nguyen Minh Phong, an economic expert also agreed.
Raising public awareness of bout the harmful effects ofplastic bags was a solution to reduce plastic use but would not solve the rootof the problem, he said.
It is necessary to amend regulations so that supermarkets andtrade centres will not supply plastic bags for free so customers have to spendtheir own money to buy them when they shop, he said, adding that it is ameasure adopted by many countries to reduce the use of plastic bags.-VNS/VNA
VNA
