Urgent solutions needed to fight plastic waste ruining oceans and waterways

Viet Nam News –

Land-based solutions are urgently needed to address the leakage of plastic waste into the ocean and other waterways, experts said on Thursday at a workshop held in HCM City.

The workshop, organised by the US Consulate General in HCM City on the occasion of Earth Day on April 22, was attended by environmental experts, and representatives from NGOs and government agencies.

Speaking at the event, US Consul General Mary Tarnowka said that caring for the environment was not only a government challenge but also a community responsibility.

“The accumulation of marine debris (which is mostly plastic) is a human-made problem that requires a human solution. People can and must do more to prevent plastics from polluting the oceans,” she said.

She called on everyone to play a role by reusing plastic bags, separating food waste from other garbage, and rejecting the use of plastic cups and straws at restaurants and plastic bags at supermarkets.

Việt Nam dumps 1.8 million tonnes of plastic waste into the ocean each year, according to Quách Thị Xuân, director of the Đà Nẵng Consultancy on Sustainable Development Centre and a co-founder of Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance (VZWA).

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