Hanoi (VNA) - ꦐThe Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on September 11 announced that a ceremony to kick off the ‘Make the World Cleaner’ campaign 2023 in Viet Nam themed ‘Joining hands for a cleaner world’ will be held on September 16 in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

The campaign is a national one launched by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in cooperation with ministries and relevant agencies. It is held in the third week of September every year. The campaign calls for organisation of activities to respond to the global campaign to make the world a cleaner place in 2022. This year, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment cooperated with the Vietnam Farmers' Union and Bac Ninh provincial People’s Committee to launch the campaign. On September 11, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment announced that a ceremony to kick off the ‘Make the World Cleaner’ campaign 2023 in Vietnam themed ‘Joining hands for a cleaner world’ will be held on September 16 in Bac Ninh province. The campaign is aimed at raising public awareness on environmental protection and encouraging the use of recyclable materials and mitigating the use of plastics, towards a green and circular economy, and sustainable development. The campaign ‘Make the World Cleaner’, initiated by Australia and started in 1993, has become an important annual event drawing hundreds of countries and millions of people around the globe with various activities to protect the environment and promote sustainable development. Vietnam has responded to the campaign since 1994 with many specific and practical activities. This year, Vietnam has launched community movements such as those to plant trees, clean the environment in urban areas, rivers and canals, while paying greater attention to environment issues at the local level. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has asked localities and agencies to popularise the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and guiding documents, while urging the media to increase environmental communications, focusing on issues related to a green and circular economy. Coastal cities and provinces are asked to organise cleaning activities on beaches and shore areas. The ministry suggested activities should focus on collecting plastic waste and non-combustible items and bringing them to the waste treatment facilities. Following the cleaning-ups, coastal cities and provinces are asked to assign relevant agencies and organisations to carefully manage those areas and prevent littering there for a cleaner sea environment. The "Working together to change the world" campaign to make the world cleaner is a chance for localities and agencies to strengthen the control and supervision over waste concentrated areas such as industrial parks, craft villages, and river basins. The campaign also focuses on cleaner air and reducing air pollution. It also aims to enhance public awareness of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to encourage food and goods supply chains to minimise the use of plastic bags and single-use plastic products./.