Plastic Recycling Practices in Vietnam and Related Hazards for Health and the Environment

Stefan Salhofer, Aleksander Jandric, Souphaphone Soudachanh, Thinh Le Xuan and Trinh Dinh Tran
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Stefan Salhofer: Institute of Waste Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Aleksander Jandric: Institute of Waste Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Souphaphone Soudachanh: Institute of Waste Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Thinh Le Xuan: Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre Co. Ltd, Hanoi 11413, Vietnam
Trinh Dinh Tran: Faculty of Chemistry, University of Science, Vietnam National University, No. 19 Le Thanh Tong Street, Hanoi 11021, Vietnam

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: Waste plastic today is a global threat. The rapid increase in global production and use has led to increasing quantities of plastics in industrial and municipal waste streams. While in industrialized countries plastic waste is taken up by a waste management system and at least partly recycled, in low-income countries adequate infrastructure to collect and treat waste adequately is often not in place. This paper analyzes how plastic waste is handled in Vietnam, a country with a fast-growing industry and growing consumption. The recycling of plastic waste typically takes place in an informal context. To demonstrate this in more detail, two rural settlements—so-called craft villages—are taken as case studies. Technologies and processes for plastic recycling are described and related risks for human health and the environment are shown, as well as the potential for the improvement of this situation.

Keywords: plastic recycling; informal recycling; health risk; environmental impacts; craft village; Vietnam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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