Hanoi (VNA) - Enterprises in Hanoi have implemented many concrete andpractical action programmes to prevent the use of plastic bags and disposableplastic products in response to the city’s joint efforts to fight plastic wastein industrial production and consumer distribution.

Accordingto data from the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, about 6,000 tonnesof waste are discharged in the city every day, of which 8-10 percent areplastic waste, which are mainly generated in industrial production and consumerdistribution.

Theyare mainly plastic bags and disposable plastic products, which are difficult ortake a long time to be decomposed. However, they are still popularly usedbecause of convenience in production and consumption.

Hanoi is now home to 24 trade centres, 140 supermarkets, 454 markets andthousands of convenience stores which still keep the habit of using plasticbags.

Overthe past time, production and distribution businesses have made efforts to minimizeplastic waste.

A representative of the Hanoi 27–7Packaging Company Limited said thefirm has boldly invested in application of new technologies inproduction.

The company has so far converted 50 percent of finished products into environmentallyfriendly packaging, including multiple-use plastic bags and paper bags for bothexport and growing demand in the domestic market.

Thecompany has committed that 100 percent of its products will be environmentallyfriendly by 2020.

Many shopping centres, supermarkets, convenience stores such as Vinmart, Big C,MM Mega Market, Lotte, and Saigon Co.op Mart have moved to use self-destructroll bags and biodegradable plastic bags to replace disposable plastic bags.

Theyhave also used trays, boxes, plates, bowls and some items made from corn flour,bagasse, and coconut fiber for processing food to replace products made ofplastic.

Some shops have used natural materials such as banana leaves, dong leaves,bamboo sticks, and paper bags to wrap their products.

Currently, supermarkets in Hanoi are "racing" to use and distributeenvironmentally friendly packaging products.

CEO of LOTTE Mart Vietnam Kang Minho said that the LOTTE Mart chain is sellingpaper straws, eco-green bags, boxes made from bagasse, and chicken eggs packedwith paper packaging instead of plastic boxes.

In the coming time, LOTTE Mart will sell straws made of rice powder and allcooked food sold at LOTTE Mart supermarkets in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City willalso be packed in boxes made from bagasse, which will decompose itself whenthey are buried under ground within 45 days.

The latest statistics of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment showthat Hanoi and HCM City discharged 80 tonnes of plastic and nylon each day.

Ifevery family in the two cities replaces plastic bags with environmentallyfriendly products, the amount of plastic released into the environment would besignificantly reduced.

Theuse of banana leaves and biodegradable bags to cover foods in supermarkets isone of many solutions to protect the environment, the ministry said.

Nguyen Thi Kim Dung, Director of of Co.op Mart Ha Dong in Hanoi, said thesupermarket aims to replace all plastic bags with leaves such as banana leaves,lotus leaves and paper bags or bags made from corn powder.

According to deputy director of Co.op Food Pham Thi Ngoc Lan, when enterprises useenvironmentally friendly products to replace plastic bags, they have to paymore expenses and efforts.

The reduction of plastic waste is not a temporary movement but is anindispensable development trend, and received increasing support from thecommunity, she said.

Along with alternative solutions, it is necessary to raise public awareness of theimportance of reducing use of plastic products and change their habit of usingplastic products.

Theuse of banana leaves to pack vegetables and fruits in supermarkets in Vietnam isone of the solutions to minimize and stop using plastic bags, contributing to graduallychanging a habit harmful to the environment.-VNA