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

Salhofer, Stefan; Jandric, Aleksander; Soudachanh, Souphaphone; Le Xuan, Thinh; Tran, Trinh Dinh

doi:10.3390/ijerph18084203

Open AccessArticle

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

by

Stefan Salhofer

^1,*

,

Aleksander Jandric

¹,

Souphaphone Soudachanh

¹,

Thinh Le Xuan

^2,3

and

Trinh Dinh Tran

⁴

¹

Institute of Waste Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria

²

Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre Co. Ltd, Hanoi 11413, Vietnam

³

School of Environmental Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi 11615, Vietnam

⁴

Faculty of Chemistry, University of Science, Vietnam National University, No. 19 Le Thanh Tong Street, Hanoi 11021, Vietnam

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(8), 4203; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084203

Submission received: 28 February 2021 / Revised: 2 April 2021 / Accepted: 8 April 2021 / Published: 15 April 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solid Waste Management among Rural Communities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries)

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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

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MDPI and ACS Style

Salhofer, S.; Jandric, A.; Soudachanh, S.; Le Xuan, T.; Tran, T.D. Plastic Recycling Practices in Vietnam and Related Hazards for Health and the Environment. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 4203. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084203

AMA Style

Salhofer S, Jandric A, Soudachanh S, Le Xuan T, Tran TD. Plastic Recycling Practices in Vietnam and Related Hazards for Health and the Environment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(8):4203. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084203

Chicago/Turabian Style

Salhofer, Stefan, Aleksander Jandric, Souphaphone Soudachanh, Thinh Le Xuan, and Trinh Dinh Tran. 2021. "Plastic Recycling Practices in Vietnam and Related Hazards for Health and the Environment" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 8: 4203. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084203

APA Style

Salhofer, S., Jandric, A., Soudachanh, S., Le Xuan, T., & Tran, T. D. (2021). Plastic Recycling Practices in Vietnam and Related Hazards for Health and the Environment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), 4203. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084203

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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

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