plastic waste stories

Travel

Tourists Generate Up to 3 Times More Plastic Waste Than Locals, UNDP Finds

A recent report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warns that plastic waste pollution poses increasing problems for both the environment and the economy of the tourism industry, especially as the sector continues to grow rapidly.

Travel

Tourists Generate Up to 3 Times More Plastic Waste Than Locals, UNDP Finds

Environment

Inside Saigon's Grassroots Carton and Aluminum Recycling Plants

With plastics claiming many of the headlines worldwide and constituting a major issue in Vietnam, scant attention is being paid to other recyclable materials, namely cardboard and aluminum.

Music & Arts

In Hội An, Artist Nguyễn Quốc Dân Breathes New Life Into Scrap Materials

The several dozen family altars that formed a hodgepodge pile had each been abandoned in graveyards. For many, this would make them extremely inauspicious. But to artist Nguyễn Quốc Dân, they are perfect for making art.

Society

On Grappling With Our Complicated Bond With Single-Use Raincoats

Like many Vietnamese, I have owned more crumpled raincoats than I can count. They're the disposable kind, cinched with a few rubber bands, folded into a misshapen rectangle, then stuffed unceremoniously into a scooter’s under-seat compartment or a desk drawer.

Tech

Ride-Hailing Changed How We Commute. Can Ve Chai-Hailing Change How We Recycle?

Mentions of ve chai might evoke images of uncles and aunties pushing around their cart or perched on bicycles, ferrying a host of plastic bags and scrap metal, and occasionally calling out: “Đồng nát sắt vụn bán nào…” This familiar scene, no matter how nostalgic, might change soon.

Environment

In Đà Lạt, Greenhouses Revolutionize Farming, but at What Environmental Cost?

Plastic greenhouses in the city of Đà Lạt may protect farmers from the impacts of erratic weather, but the environmental toll of agri-plastics is building in the agriculture-dependent region.