VER TIẾNG ANH QUẢN lý CHẤT THẢI VI NHỰA – THỰC TRẠNG và NHỮNG đề XUẤT GIẢI PHÁP CHO PHÁP LUẬT VIỆT NAM

LUẬT MÔI TRƯỜNG QUẢN LÝ CHẤT THẢI VI NHỰA – THỰC TRẠNG VÀ NHỮNG ĐỀ XUẤT GIẢI PHÁP CHO PHÁP LUẬT VIỆT NAM VER TIẾNG ANH Currently, socioeconomic development is growing, industrialization and modernization are being promoted strongly, this is a good sign, but also a great pressure on the environment. Because, when the population increases, the quality of life is improved, along with an increase in the amount of plastic waste. Most types of plastic waste have a very slow rate of biodegradation, they break down into smaller particles and eventually form microplastics which are plastic particles with a diameter of 1μm 5mm.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

MICROPLASTICS POLLUTION MANAGEMENT

CURRENT PRACTICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING

LEGISLATION IN VIETNAM

HCMC 12/2021

During the pastime, for the subject of Environmental Law, we have always receiveddedication, guidance, and help from the subject lecturer First, with the knowledge of thesubject of Environmental Law taught by the teacher, we have grasped the most basiccontents to the more advanced ones At the same time, a smooth combination of theory andpractice through solving real-life situations helps us to familiarize ourselves with and beable to analyze and apply the provisions of the law provided in each school-specific case.From there, we will equip ourselves with the necessary skills to be able to handle real-lifesituations related to the field of environmental law and also help us gain a more realistic,objective view of the environment to know how to apply the knowledge learned in futurework We wish you will always have good health, success in work and especially willalways be the beloved ferryman who brings our students to the shore of endless knowledge.Furthermore, we sincerely thank you, sir!

CHAPTER I: OVERVIEW OF MICROPLASTIC WASTE AND THE SITUATION

CHAPTER II: LAW ON MICROPLASTICS POLLUTION MANAGEMENT IN

2.1 The guidelines and policies of the Party and State 18

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CHAPTER III: PROPOSAL TO IMPROVE THE LAW ON MANAGEMENT OF

1 Recommendations to improve legal policies on microplastic waste management 22

TABLE OF FIGURES

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1 Necessity

Currently, socio-economic development is growing, industrialization and modernizationare being promoted strongly, this is a good sign, but also a great pressure on theenvironment Because, when the population increases, the quality of life is improved, alongwith an increase in the amount of plastic waste Most types of plastic waste have a veryslow rate of biodegradation, they break down into smaller particles and eventually formmicroplastics - which are plastic particles with a diameter of 1μm - 5mm

Microplastics are a type of harmful waste, polluting the living environment, and havingharmful effects on aquatic organisms and human health This particle when released intoponds, lakes, rivers, and oceans can have a major impact on the environment and the foodchain In 2010, Vietnam was the country with the fourth-largest amount of plastic wastedischarged into the ocean in the world Aware of the environmental risks of plastic waste,the State has issued many legal regulations on plastic waste management, as well as plans tominimize plastic and microplastic pollution However, the management of plastic waste inVietnam currently still has many problems and inadequacies, especially, awareness ofmicroplastic pollution is still extremely limited For this reason, the authors believe that it isextremely important and necessary to conduct a comprehensive study on microplastic wasteand provide a solution to perfect the law on microplastic pollution management That is thereason why the authors chose the topic “Microplastic pollution management - Currentpractice and recommendations for improving legislation in Vietnam”

2 Research situation

Microplastic pollution is a hot issue, receiving much attention in recent times Some

typical research works can be mentioned such as: a summary of “Chinh sách, phap luat quan ly o nhiem vi nhua cua mot so quoc gia tren the gioi và de xuat cho Viet Nam” by the

Department of Scientific Information and Technology National Technology compiled in

2021; The book “O nhiem vi nhua: nghien cuu dien hinh tai Viet Nam va kinh nghiem quoc te” by the Institute of Strategy Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE)

in association with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), published

by Transport Publishing; “Legal Limits on Single-Use Plastics and Microplastics: A Global Review of National Laws and Regulations” of the United Nations Environment Program… Besides, there are also a number of scientific articles and journals such as: “Quan ly vi nhua van con vuong mac” of the Newspaper of Natural Resources and Environment; “Danh gia

vi nhua trong moi truong nuoc o Viet Nam” by Environmental Journal…

The above research papers have analyzed in detail the problem of microplasticpollution, along with practical data In order to approach more deeply and thoroughly, the

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group’s essay will have a different approach and analysis from the mentioned topics andresearch works.

Clarifying the concept, characteristics and origin of microplastic waste;

Clarifying the current situation of microplastic pollution in Vietnam;

Analysis of legal regulations on microplastic waste management of Vietnam;

Analyze the regulations on microplastic waste management of the European Union, the

US and China to draw lessons for Vietnam;

After studying the regulations, general comments on microplastic waste managementwere drawn, from which suggestions were made to improve the regulations on microplasticpollution management in Vietnamese law

4 Research subjects

Research subjects of the topic include: microplastic waste, pollution status caused bymicroplastics, microplastics pollution management comprising the formation of a legalframework to regulate human behavior, treat, limit microplastic waste and ban some objectsthat have the risk of creating a large source of environment pollution from producingmicroplastics

5 Research scope

The essay will provide some information and have an overview about microplasticsmanagement in some countries, including Vietnam, from concept to practical application ofpollution and the same regulatory framework related to this issue This is also the basis for

us to propose more appropriate solutions in order to solve the problem of microplasticpollution in Vietnam

In addition, other issues related to microplastics management in this article, we onlyresearched and mentioned at a basic level, as the basis for the general arguments for detailedanalysis, clarify issues within the scope of the research topic

6 Research methods

During the implementation of the topic, we used the following research methods:

Firstly, the method of analysis and synthesis: We analyzed and synthesized the mostcommon concepts and characteristics of microplastic waste At the same time, synthesize a

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number of reports on the status of environmental pollution caused by microplastic waste inVietnam.

Second, the method of comparison and contrast: This method has been applied instudying the situation of microplastic waste management in some countries around theworld From there, certain lessons can be drawn for the improvement of the law in Vietnam

In addition, the group also used a number of methods such as interpretive and inductivemethods; refer to the research work of experts and practitioners, etc to be able to completeand implement the group’s set of contents

7 The structure of the essay

In addition to the Introduction, Conclusion and List of References, the essay isstructured in 03 parts as follows:

Chapter I: Overview of microplastic waste and the situation of microplastic pollution inVietnam;

Chapter II: Law on microplastics pollution management in some countries and Vietnam;Chapter III: Proposal to improve the law on management of microplastic waste inVietnam

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CHAPTER I: OVERVIEW OF MICROPLASTIC WASTE AND THE SITUATION

OF MICROPLASTIC POLLUTION IN VIETNAM

1 Overview of microplastic waste

1.1 Concept

Through many studies, microplastics are defined as fibrous, thin, granular, pellet, very small pieces of plastic that are hard to see with the naked eyes.1 The first internationalconference on microplastics, organized by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA), also came up with a definition of microplastics: “microplastics are pieces or fibers of plastic that are the same size as microplastics Size less than 5mm”.2

This definition gives only the upper limit and not the lower limit of microplastics Until the

term “nanoplastics” appeared, there was a lower limit for microplastics that were plastic

particles smaller than 1μm in size From there, we have a fairly complete definition ofmicroplastics: small pieces of plastic with sizes from 1μm - 5mm

Microplastics can now be divided into two main groups:

Primary microplastics (primary): are microplastics produced with a certain size and

shape This type of microplastic is often purposefully manufactured for service industries orthe plastics industry For example, personal care products or cleaning agents such astoothpaste, facial cleanser, They are from nano to micro in size that are discharged directlyinto the environment through rivers and streams In addition, primary microplastics can alsoarise from plastic items during production, use or maintenance, such as the wear of tireswhile running, or the wear of clothes during the process wash

Secondary microplastics (secondary): usually in the form of sheets, flakes, filaments,

foams of very small size and are the result of the decomposition of large plastic pieces intosmaller pieces of plastic, caused by physical, biological and chemical agents.3 The process

of breaking down large plastic materials into smaller pieces is called fragmentation This isalso the main factor leading to the creation of microplastics These types of microplasticsare usually plastic bottles, fishing nets, plastic bags, etc

1 National Administration of Science and Technology Information (2021), “Chinh sach, phap luat quan ly o nhiem vi nhua cua mot so quoc gia tren the gioi va de xuat cho Vietnam”, Ministry of Science and Technology.

2 NOAA Fact Sheet, Microplastic Marine Debrist.

3 National Administration of Science and Technology Information (2021), “Chinh sach, phap luat quan ly o nhiem vi nhua cua mot so quoc gia tren the gioi va de xuat cho Vietnam”, Ministry of Science and Technology.

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Figure 1.1 Types of microplastics

Source: “Introduction to Microplastics” - A Rocha International

1.2 Origin of microplastic waste

Plastic is now used a lot in life and production activities both at sea and on land.However, about 98% of primary microplastics arise from activities on land, only 2% aregenerated at sea Primary microplastics are generated mainly from 07 sources: plasticparticles/pellets, synthetic fabrics, tire wear, road markings, ship paint, personal careproducts and urban dust.4 Of these sources, only microplastics in personal care products areintentional sources, as people intentionally introduce microplastics into products Theremaining sources are due to objective impacts such as weather or unintentionally duringthe production, transportation, use, products containing plastic

Figure 1.2 Source of microplastic waste

4 National Administration of Science and Technology Information (2021), “Chinh sach, phap luat quan ly o nhiem vi nhua cua mot so quoc gia tren the gioi va de xuat cho Vietnam”, Ministry of Science and Technology.

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Source: “Freshwater Microplastics: Emerging Environmental Contaminants?” - Martin

Wagner & Scott Lambert

Plastic beads: In the process of manufacturing, transporting or recycling plastic

products, plastic particles in the form of granules, pellets and powder can be scattered,flying into the environment, giving rise to primary plastic particles

Synthetic fabrics: Washing clothes has indirectly created microplastics through the

abrasion of fabrics, shedding the fabric fibers These fibers are often discharged throughwastewater and into the ocean Currently, a large amount of synthetic fibers have beenfound in water and ocean sediments

Tires: During use, tires are worn, creating plastic particles Tire dust is then dispersed in

the air or washed away by rain into ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, etc

Road markings/markers: made up of paints, thermoplastics, preformed polymer tapes

and epoxy, of which paint accounts for 45%.5 Microplastics can be created when the tire isrubbing against the road markings Just like tire dust, these microplastics can be suspended

in the air or drifted to ponds, lakes, and into the ocean

Personal care products: microplastics are used in cosmetics and some personal care

products such as toothpaste, facial cleansers, exfoliants, etc This ingredient even accountsfor 10% of product weight Using these types of products is directly putting microplasticsinto the domestic wastewater stream, from there, dispersing to other water sources and theocean

Urban dust: urban dust in this case arises from the abrasion of shoe sole products,

infrastructure such as artificial grass, harbors, roads, house paint, and even fromintentionally pouring cleaning agents into wastewater

Besides the above sources, a number of other activities such as maintenance, shipdemolition and wastewater treatment also release microplastics into the environment

For the marine environment, the main sources of microplastics are marine, tourism andfishing In the process of transporting goods at sea, plastic particles can also be releasedfrom there A few others are from human waste on ships In addition, the wear and tear offishing gear and other equipment also leads to the generation of secondary microplastics

1.3 Features of microplastic waste

A recent study in November 2018 by the University of Water Resources, conducted inthe Ba Lat estuary, where the Red River empties into the sea, showed some keycharacteristics of microplastic waste

5 National Administration of Science and Technology Information (2021), “Chinh sach, phap luat quan ly o nhiem vi nhua cua mot so quoc gia tren the gioi va de xuat cho Vietnam”, Ministry of Science and Technology.

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About shape: The most common biomorphs found in the study were filaments,

followed by flakes and granules The percentage of fibers measured (91%) is consistent withthat published in the study on microplastics in the Saigon River (92%).6 This ratio showsthat the main cause of microplastic pollution in the delta is the production of synthetic andartificial fibers of the textile industry

In terms of size and color: Larger microplastics (300-5,000 μm) accounted for more

than 88% of the collected items Microplastic waste is usually transparent, red and blue incolor The size of microplastics changes due to the influence of the external environmentsuch as: ultraviolet rays, abrasion of the flow, Because of the continuous change, thecharacteristics of microplastics in Different studies will have differences

Composition: FTIR analysis showed that most of the detected microplastics were in the

form of PE (polyethylene) and some PP (polypropylene), polyamide (PA) and polystyrene(PS).7 This is consistent with the distribution of manufactured plastics, as cheaper polymerresins are most commonly produced and used The findings in this study also coincide withthe results of some previously published studies

Figure 1.3 Features of microplastic waste

Source: “O nhiem vi nhua: nghien cuu dien hinh tai Vietnam và kinh nghiem quoc te”

-Institute of Strategy, Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) &

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

6 Institute of Strategy, Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) & International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (2021), “O nhiem vi nhua: nghien cuu dien hinh tai Vietnam và kinh nghiem quoc te”, Publishing House of Transport

7 Ibid.

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2 Microplastic pollution situation in Vietnam

Figure 1.4 Microplastic pollution situation in Vietnam

Source: Viet Nam xep thu 4 tren the gioi ve xa rac thai nhua ra bien

Currently, Vietnam mainly imports plastic materials In 2018, Vietnam’s average percapita consumption and use of plastic was 81 kg/person/year and waste generation was 58kg/person/year 93% of imported plastic scrap is recycled through formal processes, whilethe remaining 7% of domestic waste is recycled in craft villages that do not applyappropriate environmental processes.8

Types of plastic waste in Vietnam are mainly plastic bags, plastic bottles, single-useplastic products, plastic products that are difficult to recover, difficult to recycle, etc Thistype of waste arises from various activities Living, consuming, and socio-economicactivities include: packaging, agriculture, construction, tourism, plastic recycling, Industries that generate the most microplastic waste in Vietnam South are: cosmetics,personal care products, textiles, transportation, ship maintenance and demolition,wastewater treatment, Meanwhile, the source of microplastic waste at sea due to the loss

of goods and from the daily life of people at sea…

Regarding the status of microplastic pollution, Vietnam does not have official statistics,however, recently there have been some studies to determine the distribution and content ofmicroplastics in sediment samples and water environment

In 09 provinces of Vietnam, representing 19 surface water areas and 2 beach sediments,the concentration of microplastics in surface water ranged from 0.35 to 2,522 particles/m3.Compared with the environment from the countries listed as the biggest emitters of ocean

8 The IUCN ‘Close the Plastic Tap’ Programme: From Global Strategy to Local Actions.

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plastic, the levels of microplastics measured in Vietnam are in the lower range than thosemeasured in China, the Philippines and Indonesia.

On the Saigon River, the density of filamentous microplastics at each site ranged from172,000 pieces/m3 to 519,000 pieces/m3 and the density of microplastics at each site rangedfrom 10 MPs/m3 to 223 MPs/m3 Microplastics were also found in all three seas of TienGiang, Can Gio and Ba Ria - Vung Tau with densities ranging from 0.04 to 0.82 pieces/m3

of seawater, the lowest in Can Gio and the highest in the Tien Giang region The commonfeature of microplastics in these three seas is that of thin and fibrous form, the size isconcentrated in the range of 0.25 - 0.5 mm and 1 - 2.8 mm, with quite diverse colors.9

Now, there has not been an overall assessment of the source of generation (fromcleaning products, cosmetics, laundry activities, textiles, transportation ) and the currentstatus of microplastics in the environment (soil, water, air) in Vietnam.10

9 Institute of Strategy, Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) & International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (2021), “O nhiem vi nhua: nghien cuu dien hinh tai Vietnam và kinh nghiem quoc te”, Publishing House of Transport.

10 Ibid.

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CHAPTER II: LAW ON MICROPLASTICS POLLUTION MANAGEMENT IN SOME COUNTRIES AND VIETNAM

1 Policies and laws on microplastics management in the world

1.1 European Union (EU)

At the moment, the European legal system lacks a separate comprehensive regulation onmicroplastic waste, as well as economic incentives for enterprises to take action to eliminatemicroplastics in the environment However, a new proposal by The European ChemicalAgency (ECHA) to limit the intentional use of microplastics in products has addressedmicroplastics This applies to products such as fertilizers, cleaning, laundry, cosmetics andothers Microplastics are added to these products to improve viscosity, appearance orstability.11 In 2021, EU member states will likely vote on a new microplastics rule REACHwill ban the use of microplastics in many items if the legislation passes (REACH is theRegistration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals regulation) This onlyapplies to microplastics that are intentionally added to consumer products The newregulation does not apply to products that shed microplastics during use or disposal.12 This

is the first step the EU is taking to reduce the harmful impact of microplastics on nature andpeople

Regarding environmental pollution caused by plastic waste, Europe has committed toimplement plastic waste reduction activities not only in the region, but also on a globalscale On January 16, 2018, the EC adopted the European Strategy on Plastics in a CircularEconomy, which identified that marine litter is still the continent’s problem and plastic is asource of environmental pollution Seriously, the strategy emphasizes, in the Europeanaction plan, that it will strengthen actions on fishing gear, including promoting producerresponsibility and escrow options The strategy also addresses microplastics, a significantsource of marine pollution In particular, in the EC’s revised Draft Waste Directive, basicprinciples and goals have been added, including the goal that by 2030, municipal waste andplastic bags must be recycled.13 Obviously, plastic waste in the sea is a global problem, asgarbage moves in the marine environment and trash from one country can affect the marineenvironment of another Therefore, we realize that it is necessary for countries to acttogether, and at the same time, to ensure adequate environmental and legal standards forbusinesses

11 CBI - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Europe is taking action to reduce microplastic pollution”, [ https://www.cbi.eu/news/europe-taking-action-reduce-microplastic-pollution ] (accessed December 8, 2021).