News
Mekong countries urged to fight plastic pollution in rivers
Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia have been asked to adopt stronger solutions to deal with plastic pollution in the Mekong River and its tributaries. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) said in a Wednesday report that the four member countries should establish a “joint, permanent mechanism to ...
VnExpress
Ho Chi Minh City’s plastic ‘habit’ leaves piles of waste
Kieu Anh Tran heads down a small alley to her workshop in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh District. Inside, her team is busy washing used plastic tarpaulins, cutting patterns, and sewing the discarded material into backpacks, tote bags, and wallets. In Vietnam’s southern city and ...
Govi Snell
Global Survey Sees Seven Out of Ten People Wanting to End Plastic Pollution
Ahead of next week’s inaugural negotiations on what will be included in the UN’s plastics treaty, WWF and Plastic Free Foundation release an Ipsos survey showing that an average of seven out of 10 people polled across 34 countries believe that the treaty should create ...
Phontham Visapra
Waste startups and entrepreneurship tackle Cambodia’s growing trash problem
n a remote road in Battambang, Cambodia, 38-year-old Lam Samphors was driving to a community training when he came across a strikingly large pile of trash in the middle of the road. As he hit the brakes and gazed upon the mountain of garbage, Samphors ...
CHEA SAMEANG
We need new weapons against packaging waste
Last month, researchers found microplastics — small, microscopic pieces of plastic fragments — within human lungs for the first time. This comes on the heels of news that microplastics were found in human blood, which may travel around the body and enter organs. Microplastics find their ...
SIMON BALDWIN
Commentary: What can Southeast Asia do about all this COVID-19 waste?
For the last couple of years, virtually every news feed or broadcast has included images of mask-clad people or health workers suited up as protection from COVID-19. While the images might be ephemeral, those masks and personal protective equipment (PPE), along with used test kits and ...
JJ Rose
Consumption of plastics doubles in Myanmar amid pandemic: environmental group
According to Thant Myanmar, the consumption of plastic has doubled during the Covid-19 pandemic in Myanmar. Ma The Su Aye, manager of Thant Myanmar’s Rural Waste Management, told DMG that the increase was due to the increasing use of plastics, which are currently being used during ...
Development Media Group
Island of rubbish: Koh Samui’s pollution problem remains unsolved
No one can argue with the appeal of visiting Thailand’s exotic, tropical islands. With their glistening palm trees, crystal-clear waters, and powdery, white sands, a trip down south is what many yearn to cross off their bucket lists. One of Thailand’s most iconic islands is that ...
The Thaiger
Vietnam to need 80,000 tonnes of biodegradable plastics annually by 2025
The demand for biodegradable plastics in Vietnam is projected to reach 80,000 tonnes annually by 2025, according to Associate Prof. Dr. Le Hung Anh, Director of the Institute of Environmental Science, Engineering and Management. At a recent workshop on biodegradable plastic production and consumption held by the Ministry of Natural ...
VNA
Plastic gets to the oceans through over 1,000 rivers
The problem with plastic waste just got more complicated—and so did the effort to stanch its flow into the world’s oceans. Rivers are the primary conduits for plastic waste to the seas. In 2017, two separate groups of scientists concluded that 90 percent of river-borne plastic ...
LAURA PARKER