A photo by Nguyễn Đoàn Kết showing a landfill in Việt Nam won a photo contest held by UNDP in 2021. Photo courtesy of UNDP

HÀ NỘI — A campaign aiming to tackle plastic waste in Việt Nam was launched on Monday in Hà Nội.

The campaign, organised by UNDP in cooperation with the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, will last six months in both online and offline form in Dương, Bình Định, Bình Thuận, Đà Nẵng and Quảng Ninh provinces.

The organisers will hold conferences on measures to replace or eliminate single-use plastic, develop local tourism in a sustainable way and guidance on the classification of rubbish.

At the launch, the organisers introduced Trash Hunt, a mobile application that enables users to report and monitor indiscriminate dumping sites. Users can take photos and record the information on the map, which can inform local authorities and stakeholders.

Việt Nam currently ranks fourth in the world for the amount of plastic waste, with approximately 730,000 tonnes of plastic waste going into the sea every year.

The country produces twice the amount of plastic waste as low-income countries. — VNS