Vietnam Innovators Tackle Plastic Waste Crisis with UNDP Support

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been working on plastic waste management solutions in Vietnam through its Plastics Innovation Programme.

The programme, supported by The Coca-Cola Foundation and the UN Peace and Development Fund's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Sub-Fund, has showcased 11 innovations that have gone through incubation and acceleration over two months and nine months respectively.

Collections, sorting, reuse, recycling, and behaviour change are among the areas where these solutions focus. The pilot initiatives have collectively prevented, collected, recycled or treated more than 750 tonnes of plastic waste while testing new approaches to alternative materials, digital data systems, circular business models, improved technologies, and innovative financing mechanisms.

The programme also aims to implement the Law on Environmental Protection and emerging regulations on waste management and plastics, particularly those related to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). It supports creating fair job opportunities for workers in the waste management sector while protecting their rights and wellbeing.