Women Play Key Role in White Pollution Reduction

 

Being aware of the threat of the “nylon bomb” which is invading community life, the Government of Vietnam has implemented national-level programmes mobilizing people to minimize use of nylon bags in daily life, as well as issued policies to support and encourage enterprises producing packages and plastic to shift to environmentally friendly packages. In supermarkets and shopping malls in big cities, customers have nylon bag limits or are provided biodegradable or recycled bags.

 

In 2011, using comprehensive communication to gradually change people’s habit of using nylon bags, Hanoi aimed to be the leader in the environmental protection campaign limiting nylon bag use. Apart from communicating with people and enterprises individually, the city’s leader introduced sanctions to control and fine enterprises producing nylon bags, which violate regulations on production safety. Especially, the programme emphasised reaching women since it is women that use nylon bags in daily housework and can change consuming habit to address the issue.

 

Hanoi Environmental Protection Fund associated with Hanoi Women’s Union to initiate the programme “Limit use of nylon bags” with theme “Hanoi – Sunday without nylon bags”, which informed associations and union branches about nylon bag’s harmful effects on the environment and people’s health; mobilized women to use environment-friendly bags instead of nylon ones; coordinated with governmental agencies to collect nylon waste, exchange waste paper for environmental-friendly bags, made paper bags to replace nylon bags, classified waste at site; mobilized all the members and their families to observe the programme “For clean environment, the capital’s women and people do not litter.” This programme will engage women’s responsibility to protect the environment practically since it is women who throw, collect and classify rubbish in their households.

 

One well conducted programme of environmental protection combined with communication on limited the use of nylon bags was by Thanh Oai District Women’s Union, Hanoi. The Union organized the No Nylon Bag Festival, communicated nylon’s harm to the environment and people’s health, raised awareness of women in sorting rubbish at home, and encouraged and promoted enterprises producing safe packages to replace nylon bags. Talking to us, Ms Hien, Chairwoman of Thanh Oai district Women’s Union, excitedly said that, thank to efforts and dynamic activities of the Union, there hasn’t been an epidemic in the whole district, which is the result of considerable distribution of local union branches and all the members who regularly cleaned up rubbish to protect the environment.

 

Ms Hien said that she herself goes to the market with a basket to carry foods, to limit the use of nylon bags, sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves as before is still safer and better looking than that wrapped in recycled nylon bags. The Union also mobilized all the staff, members and their families to observe the programme, playing a backbone role to maintain the programme “For a clean environment, the capital’s women and people do not litter,” maintain and improve the quality of roads and streets with cleanliness – urban politeness, self-controlled roads, and clean, green and beautiful streets.

The battle against nylon bags requires long time since it is impossible to immediately change the living habits of all residents. To eliminate nylon bags from daily life, people must be made aware of the associated problems, and authorities’ need to introduce other reasonable options and favourable policies.