We generate tons of plastic packaging waste that is released into the environment every day without any remedies, resulting in serious environmental and health issues. How can we handle this? Will Vietnam be flooded with waste, including plastic waste that is difficult to handle? Let’s check out if there are alternatives to plastic packaging that are environmentally friendly!
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Vietnam is seriously polluted because of the plastic packaging problem
Plastics have become a challenging material to replace since they emerged in the 1950s due to their outstanding advantages: water resistance, durability, ease of processing, lightweight, cheapness, ease of inventory, and ease of distribution.
Today, plastic is present in almost all areas of life. High demand leads to an uncontrollable increase in plastic waste
Every year, only 9 percent of plastic waste is recycled, 12 percent is incinerated, and the rest (equivalent to 79% of plastic waste) is buried in landfills or dumped into the oceans of the world.
Vietnam ranks 17th out of 109 countries in the world with the largest level of plastic waste produced and 4th in the amount of plastic waste dumped into the sea each year. Our country discharges about 1.8 million tons of plastic waste into the environment every year (according to a report by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment).
In more detail, each household uses 223 plastic bags/month, which equates to about 1 kilogram of plastic/month, which accounts for 8 to 12% of domestic solid waste. As a result, millions of kilograms of plastic waste are released into the environment every day due to a population of more than 95 million people.
The environment and human health will be adversely affected by the discharge of this amount of plastic waste into the environment:
Long decomposition time
Currently, most plastic waste is still disposed of by landfill in the soil.
In the absence of gas landfill conditions, plastic bags will decompose completely within 500-1000 years and will not decay into harmless substances. Despite completely decomposing, PE plastic when mixed into the soil also makes the soil inert and does not retain moisture and nutrients, resulting in soil discolorations and erosion.
In addition, the landfilling of waste seriously pollutes groundwater.
Polluting the environment:
Plastic bags mixed in drainage lines clog sewage lines, causing flooding in urban areas, and leading to mosquito flies arising and transmitting diseases. Plastic bags floating in rivers and seas. directly affect aquatic organisms.
Affecting human health:
Plastic packaging containing lead and cadmium (contained in the coloring inks on the packaging) can cause lung cancer and serious health complications.
By storing hot food in plastic bags, users can become contaminated with lead, DOP (dioctyl phthalate), and other dangerous chemicals.
It is known that landfilling plastic waste is dangerous. However, the technology for reusing and recycling plastic waste in Vietnam is not yet developed, it is expensive, and plastic bags are cheap, so not many Vietnamese recycle plastic bags. Burning plastic waste releases a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere, which also has a detrimental effect on the environment.
If there are no concrete solutions to the plastic problem, everything becomes deadlocked. What should we do?
Taking action today to limit plastic packaging
Unless plastic waste is minimized, Vietnam will be swamped with waste in the future, and land and groundwatersources will be severely degraded. Now is the time to take action to reduce plastic waste:
Limit the use of utensils made from plastic
Plastic products have become an integral part of people’s daily lives. Therefore, banning the use of PE plastic is very difficult. However, limiting its use is quite possible. You can:
- Limit the use of disposable cups, forks, spoons, etc. when there is no need of using them
- Make the most of baskets, lanes, and shopping bags by using them repeatedly
- Consider using fast-composting plastic bags as an alternative
=>> Please see more articles:
- Recycled plastic bags and 7 great benefits that not everyone knows
- Why is eco-friendly packaging recommended?
Plastic bags which can biodegrade are a “rising star”:
In response to environmental hazards, Vietnam is actively promoting the use of easily compostable products in place of plastic bags. In recent years, the biodegradable plastic packaging movement has grown stronger and more people are willing to pay a bit more for it.
With the help of a research team, Minh Sang Packaging has developed a Bio-Based – Biodegradable starch bag made from a mixture of conventional PE plastic and starch.
The use of starch – a readily available and bio-derived material – in plastic bead mixing makes Biodegradable packaging products extremely safe for users and the environment. These products have many superior features, such as the ability to decompose quickly, which is the first of which we can mention.
When mixing raw materials, the biological component is deeply linked to the plastic circuit structure. Moisture in the environment causes the biological component to hydrolyze, resulting in fermentation and the development of microorganisms inside the plastic circuit.
Plastics – essentially waterproof components – become non-water-resistant during fermentation, making the plastic circuit more vulnerable to microorganism attacks. From there, the product will completely decompose in the natural environment, after being buried in a gaseous environment.
Depending on storage conditions, Biobased packaging will gradually lose its durability after one year, and will not perform as well as the original. When left in natural conditions, Biodegradable packaging will begin to degrade after six months and decompose gradually. The time for the product to completely decompose is about 5 years – 10 years.
It can be said that Minh Sang’s Biobased packaging is the perfect solution to replace conventional plastic bags:
- In terms of their physical properties, Biodegradable wheat starch bags are similar to conventional plastic bags: thin, durable, and waterproof.
- Environmentally friendly products.
- Good heat resistance.
- Starch ingredients in the packaging make it safe for users, especially when used in food packaging.
- Unlike plastic bags, biodegradable wheat starch bags have no unpleasant smell.
We are happy to assist you in ordering Biodegradable plastic bags. Please contact us at the following:
- Hotline: (028) 3983 2290 – (028) 3983 2292
- Email: minhsang.co@gmail.com
- Website: baobiminhsang.com
