Raising awareness about reducing ocean plastic waste

On the morning of July 21, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, the International Organization for Conservation of Nature in Vietnam and VTC News Online Newspaper organized a training program with the theme "Improving communication capacity to change behavior on reducingocean plastic pollution”.

The program was organized in person and online, with the participation of more than 100 reporters, journalists; representatives of agencies, organizations, and experts.

Panorama of the conference at the Hanoi bridge. Screenshot: Quang An

This activity aims to enhance communication and raise awareness among the community and businesses about changing smart and sustainable plastic consumption behavior, promoting reduction, reuse, recycling and treatment of plastic waste; limiting the use of disposable plastic products and hard-to-decompose plastic bags; encouraging the production of environmentally friendly products to replace traditional plastic products.

In addition, improve specialized knowledge and experience in writing propaganda articles on the State's legal policies in plastic waste management, use of disposable plastic products and non-biodegradable plastic bags in production, business and daily life for reporters and editors of central and local press agencies.

Plastic waste is killing the marine environment. Photo: Quang An

Speaking at the training session, Mr. Luu Anh Duc - Department of Science, Technology and International Cooperation, Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands said: Plastic waste is considered a "red alert" phenomenon, an urgent issue in the ASEAN region in particular and the world in general. In Vietnam alone, every day about 2,000 tons of plastic waste from the country leak into the sea, causing serious environmental pollution. Therefore, we need to act urgently to prevent the risk of "the ocean having more plastic than fish in the future".

In recent years, Vietnam has pioneered many strong action programs to address the problem of plastic waste pollution, which have received active response and participation from all walks of life.

In particular, the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 officially took effect from January 1, 2022, including additional provisions on reducing, reusing, recycling and treating plastic waste; limiting the use of disposable plastic products and hard-to-decompose plastic bags; encouraging the production of environmentally friendly products to replace traditional plastic products. This is an important legal basis for Vietnam to strengthen the management, reuse, recycling, treatment and reduction of plastic waste in the coming time.

Packaging, plastic bags, and plastic bottles are littered at Dien Thanh beach before the tourist season. Photo: Quang An

At the training session, representatives of ministries, departments, branches, experts and press agencies focused on presenting papers and discussing the main topics including: The role and position of Vietnam in proactively participating in building a global agreement on ocean plastic pollution; State policies, laws, solutions to promote the extended responsibility mechanism of manufacturers for packaging waste in Vietnam and importing enterprises in environmental protection; The role of enterprises in the circular economy; The role of the media in propagating the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and the extended responsibility mechanism of manufacturers...

Representatives of the Press Department and the Academy of Journalism and Communication also shared experiences, ways to exploit and implement topics in reducing ocean plastic pollution and practical lessons to help reporters and journalists fulfill their propaganda role well, contributing to changing the awareness and behavior of the community and businesses in environmental protection./.