Local residents can get 1kg of rice for each kg of plastics or recyclable waste. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City is trying to tackle the scourge ofplastic waste by offering rice to residents in return for their trash.
Local residents canget 1kg of rice for each kg of plastics or recyclable waste, and each of themcan exchange a maximum amount of 10kg of waste.
Since the programmewas rolled out in early September, authorities have collected more than 1 tonnes oftrash for recycling.
Pham Ngoc Minh, VicePresident of the district’s Fatherland Front Committee, said apart fromenvironmental protection, the programme aims to support local residents amidstCOVID-19.
The exchange is heldweekly and will last until December, she said, adding that the programme isfinanced by organisations and businesses in HCM City.
According to theofficial, more than 4 tonnes of rice have been mobilised for the programme sofar. Along with rice, residents can get other necessities like cooking oil andsalt, and plants.
Not only residents inDistrict 1 but also those in other localities can also join the programme, Minhsaid.
Vietnamis one of Asia’s five worst polluters of ocean plasticwaste, according tointernational organisations. With 13 million tonnes of waste released to theocean every year, the country ranks 17th in the world for ocean plasticwaste pollution.
Although there are no official statistics on the amount andvarieties of plastic in the Vietnamese sea and islands, plastic waste is easyto see in Vietnamese waters, with the country’s 112 estuaries the main gatewaysof plastic to the ocean.
Statistics from Vietnam’s Association of Plastic illustrate thescale of the problem. In 1990, each Vietnamese consumed 3.8kg of plastic peryear, but 25 years later, the figure hit 41kg.
As many as 1,000 plastic bags are used each minute but only27 percent of them are treated and recycled.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment estimatedthat about 80 tonnes of plastic waste and bags are thrown away every day inHanoi and Ho Chi Minh City combined./.
VNA
