Ha Tinh City aims for a plastic-reducing, green-developing urban area

On the afternoon of May 22, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh city held a conference to summarize actions to reduce plastic according to the project "Reducing ocean plastic waste in Vietnam" in the area.

The project "Reducing ocean plastic waste in Vietnam" was approved under Decision No. 1462/QD-BTNMT dated July 2, 2020 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment , implemented by the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands in coordination with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) from 2020 - 2025.

The project is implemented in 10 areas in 9 provinces/cities, including: 7 cities/districts: A Luoi, Da Nang , Dong Hoi, Ha Tinh, Long An, Rach Gia, Tuy Hoa and 3 marine protected areas: Con Dao, Cu Lao Cham, Phu Quoc. The project aims to contribute to minimizing the impact of plastic waste on the marine ecosystem; preserving marine biodiversity; raising community and social awareness about the relationship between plastic waste discharge and negative consequences on the environment and health; improving staff capacity in management and implementation of activities related to waste management and ocean plastic waste.

The project has three components: communication and education; management policy and extended producer responsibility (EPR) and plastic-free cities.

Chairwoman of the City Women's Union Tran Thi Phuong: The Union has actively coordinated with the project management board, agencies and units to effectively implement many models and activities; in which, the highest focus is on propaganda to change awareness, thereby promoting behavioral change in environmental protection and reducing plastic waste.

In Ha Tinh City, the project implements the urban plastic reduction component. Based on the commitment to WWF, the City People's Committee issued Plan No. 129/KH - UBND dated August 16, 2022 on plastic waste management (RTN) in the area, period 2022 - 2025, vision to 2030. After 3 years of implementation, thanks to the attention and direction of the Party Committee and government, the project has achieved many outstanding results.

The propaganda activities on solid waste are carried out in a variety of forms and through many target groups. The city also built 12 activities and models for managing and supervising solid waste, typically: eliminating environmental hotspots at Do market (Dong Mon ward); building a model of a school without solid waste, 50 schools building regulations for managing domestic solid waste; implementing 60 models of waste classification at households; models of classifying and recovering recyclable materials; collecting and processing pesticide packaging, etc.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment spoke at the conference.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Trang - Project Manager of the Urban Plastic Reduction Component (WWF): Thank you for your cooperation with the City People's Committee in coordinating with WWF to effectively implement the project. Hopefully, in the coming time, activities and models on plastic waste reduction in the city will continue to be replicated to further promote the effectiveness of the project.

Up to now, Ha Tinh City has completed 6/8 targets according to the proposed action plan framework, the remaining 2 targets are: reducing 50% of unmanaged solid waste at risk of being lost to the sea; 90% of waste source owners classify solid waste at source, which is likely to be completed in 2025.

In the coming time, Ha Tinh City will coordinate with the Project Management Board to complete the remaining goals according to the plan; continue to propagate and implement the commitment that 100% of agencies and units in the area do not use disposable plastic products; propagate and strive for 100% of shopping centers, supermarkets, hotels, traditional markets, and food establishments not to circulate and use disposable plastic products and hard-to-decompose plastic packaging; pilot the implementation of students wrapping books and notebooks with paper and cardboard that are not made from plastic materials; maintain the elimination of waste "hot spots"; replicate waste management models, apply digital data, and household waste management software, etc.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/tp-ha-tinh-huong-den-do-thi-giam-nhua-phat-trien-xanh-post288356.html