Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Võ Tuấn Nhân (second from left) and representatives of private partners at the signing ceremony. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build public-private collaboration towards a circular economy in plastic waste management was signed in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

The agreement, the first of its kind in Việt Nam, was inked between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Dow Chemical Co, Ltd. Vietnam (Dow Vietnam), Siam Cement Group (SCG), and Unilever Vietnam International Co, Ltd. (Unilever Vietnam).

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Võ Tuấn Nhân said the average use of plastic per capita in Việt Nam was not as high as that of developed countries in the world.

However, with a population of nearly 100 million and an incomplete solid waste management infrastructure, plastic waste had become a big challenge for developing countries like Việt Nam, he said.

Aware of its role and mission to address global plastic waste crisis, Việt Nam as a responsible member of the United Nations, had committed to reducing plastic waste to protect the marine ecological environment and oceans, Nhân said.

In December 2017, Việt Nam officially joined 127 countries to adopt a resolution of the UN Environment Assembly on addressing plastic waste and marine debris.

At the expanded G7 Summit in Canada in 2018, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc called for global co-operation to solve ocean plastic pollution.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has signed a protocol with the World Economic Forum on co-operation to tackle plastic waste, and established an anti-plastic coalition and packaging recycling organisation in Việt Nam.

After the ceremony, the ministry will set up a joint working group to build and carry out plans to raise public awareness of plastic pollution. — VNS