Investigating the Production of Alternatives to Single-Use Plastic Products in Vietnam

Abstract

Single-use plastics (SUPs) have been the focus of plastic pollution control, and limiting their use while shifting to other alternatives has been widely promoted in various countries. In Vietnam, between 2.8 to 3.1 million tons of plastic waste are estimated to be discharged on land every year, which makes the country one of the world’s major sources of plastic litter. Along with many countries around the world, the Government of Vietnam has committed to taking strong actions to reduce plastic waste. To support plastic pollution control, a survey of enterprises producing alternatives to SUP products in Vietnam was undertaken. Our survey results showed that for most SUPs, alternative products were already produced in Vietnam’s market. However, alternative products are currently often higher priced than their respective SUP products. The number of enterprises producing alternative products is relatively small, and most of them are small and medium-sized enterprises. The market for alternative products is small when compared to conventional plastics. The demand for alternative products mainly comes from foreign customers (exports) or domestic businesses (restaurant chains, hotels, food business chains, entertainment businesses, airlines). Promotion of alternative products through various policies and incentives to compensate for the higher price will be crucial in further reducing the SUP products that are responsible for, by far, the greatest amount of plastic pollution.