Tons of plastic debris and packaging are released into the environment every day without any special treatment, having negative effects on both the environment and human health. Is there a solution to this problem? Or will Vietnam be inundated with trash, particularly cumbersome plastic waste? Then, to aid in environmental protection, see whether there is an alternative to plastic packaging.
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Vietnam has been severely polluted by the plastic packaging issue
Since the invention of plastic in the 1950s, its excellent qualities—water resistance, durability, ease of processing, lightweight, low cost, and ease of survival—have made it an indispensable material. convenient distribution from a warehouse.
Plastic is a common material in practically every aspect of modern life. High demand causes plastic trash to get out of control. Only 9% of the plastic garbage produced worldwide each year is recycled, 12% is burned, and the remaining 79% is disposed of in landfills or the ocean.
Vietnam is ranked 4th globally in terms of the annual amount of plastic waste discharged into the ocean, and 17th globally out of 109 countries with the most plastic waste. Around 1.8 million tonnes of plastic trash are released into the environment each year in our nation (according to the report of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment).
More specifically, each home uses 223 plastic bags each month on average, which equates to 1 kilogram of plastic per month and accounts for 8–12% of household solid trash. With over 95 million inhabitants, this means that every day, millions of pounds of plastic trash are dumped into the environment.
When this much plastic waste is released into the ecosystem, it will have a detrimental effect on both the environment and human health:
Long time for decomposition
The majority of plastic garbage is still currently dumped in landfills. In anoxic, low-light landfill settings, plastic bags take 500–1000 years to totally disintegrate and not break down into benign compounds. When PE plastic is added to soil, the soil is rendered inert and unable to absorb water and nutrients needed by plants, which results in color loss and soil erosion even after PE plastic has totally decomposed. Burying garbage also severely pollutes groundwater.
Pollution of the environment
Plastic bags mixed with drainage roads choke sewage pipes, flooding urban areas, breeding grounds for flies and mosquitoes, disease transmission, etc. aquatic life, floating plastic bags in rivers, seas, and other bodies of water.
Effects on human health
Lung cancer is brought on by plastic packaging that contains lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals (in the ink used to create color on the container). Users will particularly be exposed to lead, DOP (dioctyl phthalate), and a number of other hazardous compounds while using plastic bags to keep hot food.
Although it is unsafe to bury plastic garbage, recycling is not widely practiced in Vietnam due to the country’s poor recycling technology, high costs, and low cost of plastic bags. Burning plastic garbage causes a significant amount of CO2 to be released into the atmosphere, which also has a negative effect on the environment. When people are completely unable to come up with a solution, everything becomes extremely impassed. Now what?
We must take immediate action to reduce plastic packaging
Vietnam will soon be inundated with rubbish if the plastic waste problem is not resolved, and soil and groundwater resources will also suffer significantly. We must work together to put plastic trash reduction strategies into action right away:
Limit the use of plastic utensils
The use of plastic products has become a necessity in people’s daily lives. As a result, it is exceedingly challenging to outlaw the usage of PE plastic. It is feasible to restrict its use, though. One can:
- When there is nothing to use, avoid using throwaway cups, forks, spoons,…
- Use reusable shopping bags, lanes, and baskets.
- Instead, use biodegradable plastic bags.
Biodegradable plastic bags like a “rising star”:
Vietnam is actively encouraging people to avoid using plastic bags and instead choose alternatives that are easily biodegradable in the face of environmental threats. People are increasingly prepared to pay more for biodegradable plastic packaging, and the movement is gradually taking off.
After looking for and studying alternate solutions, Minh Sang Packaging created a biobased, biodegradable wheat starch bag by combining regular PE plastic with starch. First and foremost, biodegradable packaging products are particularly beneficial to the health of consumers and the environment thanks to the use of starch, a readily available and biologically generated ingredient, in the mixing of plastic granules. The first is its rapid decomposition time.
Biological elements are intricately woven into the plastic circuit structure during the mixing of materials. The biological component will ferment and produce microorganisms inside the plastic circuit when it is hydrolyzed by the action of moisture in the environment. The resin, which is naturally not water-resistant, becomes water-resistant during fermentation, which makes it simpler for microorganisms to assault the plastic circuit. After being buried in an anaerobic condition, the product will then totally disintegrate in the natural environment.
After a year of storage, biobased packaging will progressively lose its resilience and become less effective than it was before. Biodegradable packaging will start to break down naturally and gradually decay after six months, depending on the environment. It takes about 5 to 10 years for the product to completely decompose.
One could argue that Minh Sang’s biobased packaging is the ideal substitute for regular plastic bags:
- The physical characteristics of biodegradable wheat starch bags are identical to those of traditional plastic products: they are light, strong, waterproof, and durable.
- Items that are environmentally friendly
- Excellent heat resistance
- Because the packaging contains starch, it is safe for users, especially when utilised in the food business.
- The smell of biodegradable wheat starch bags is not unpleasant.
Please get in touch with us right away if you need to order biodegradable plastic bags via:
- Hotline: (028) 3983 2290 – (028) 3983 2292.
- Email: minhsang.co@gmail.com
- Website: baobiminhsang.com
