Awareness and Willingness to Reduce Single-Use Plastic in Hanoi in Relation to Climate Change Mitigation

The purpose of this study is to understand the level of understanding of Hanoi people about the impact of plastic waste on the environment, and the willingness of people to [r]

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THI DANG HUE

AWARENESS AND WILLINGNESS TO REDUCE SINGLE-USE PLASTIC IN HANOI IN RELATION TO CLIMATE

CHANGE MITIGATION

MASTER’S THESIS

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THI DANG HUE

AWARENESS AND WILLINGNESS TO REDUCE SINGLE-USE PLASTIC IN HANOI IN RELATION TO CLIMATE

Hanoi, 2020

PLEDGE

I declare that this master thesis has conducted by the author This result has

not submitted to any papers and hasn’t published yet The references and

citations from research paper, book, report, websites were in the list of

references of the thesis

Author of the thesis

Nguyen Thi Dang Hue

TABLE OF CONTENT

PLEDGE i

TABLE OF CONTENT ii

LIST OF FIGURES iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENT vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Research background 1

1.2 Motivation 3

1.3 Purpose of the study 4

1.4 Scope 4

1.5 Research questions 5

1.6 Hypothesis 5

1.7 Structure of the thesis 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 Single – use plastic 7

2.1.1 Plastic bags 9

2.1.2 Plastic takeaway food containers 12

2.2 Plastic issue and climate change 13

2.2.1 Heat emissions from crude oil making 13

2.2.2 Greenhouse gases emission from plastic waste treatment 14

2.2.3 Greenhouse gases emission from plastic 16

2.2.4 Impact on the oceanic carbon sink 17

2.3 Waste management in Vietnam 19

2.4 Mitigating plastic related greenhouse gas emissions 21

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 25

3.1 Research process 25

3.2 Sampling and data collection 25

3.3 Questionnaire design 26

3.4 Statistic method 26

3.5 Expert method 27

3.6 Study site 27

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 29

4.1 Background information 29

4.2 Consumption behavior 30

4.3 Environmental impacts awareness 39

4.4 Willingness to reduce 42

4.4.1 Single – use plastic container 42

4.4.2 Single – use plastic bag 47

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION 52

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 58

6.1 Conclusion and recommendation 58

6.2 Limitation 60

REFERENCES 62

APPENDIX 67

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Disposal of all plastic waste generated in 2015 7

Figure 2.2: Single- use plastic bags life cycle 11

Figure 2.3: Plankton processes 18

Figure 2.4: Waste collection process 20

Figure 2.5: Net greenhouse gas emissions from source reduction and municipal solid waste management option 22

Figure 3.1: Research process proposed by the author 25

Figure 4.1: Gender and aged of respondent 29

Figure 4.2: Education level 30

Figure 4.3: Number of single - use plastic container per week in general 30

Figure 4.4: Number of single - use plastic container used base on gender per week 31

Figure 4.5: The number of containers use base on ages 32

Figure 4.6: Reusable container usage 32

Figure 4.7: The reasons for bring reusable container 33

Figure 4.8: The reason for not bring reusable container 34

Figure 4.9: Number of plastic bags used per week 35

Figure 4.10: Plastic bags usage base on gender 36

Figure 4.11: Plastic bag used after carrying 36

Figure 4.12: Reusable bags usage status 37

Figure 4.13: The reason for not bringing reusable bags 38

Figure 4.14: Environmental impact awareness 39

Figure 4.15: Environmental impact awareness with detail 39

Figure 4.16: Important of the environmental issue (on a scale from 1 to 5) 40

Figure 4.17: Sources of information 41

Figure 4.18: Shopping priority 42

Figure 4.19: Willingness to reduce single – use plastic container 43

Figure 4.20: Willingness to reduce single – use plastic container based on gender 44

Figure 4.21: Willingness to reduce plastic container based on age 44

Figure 4.22: Willingness to cooperate by paying for single - use eco-friendly container 45

Figure 4.23: Education level and willingness to cooperate by paying for single–use eco-friendly container 46

Figure 4.24: Willingness to reduce the usage of single – use plastic bag in general 47Figure 4.25: Willingness to reduce the usage of single – use plastic bag based

on gender 47Figure 4.26: Willingness to reduce the usage of single – use plastic bag based

on ages 48Figure 4.27: Willingness to cooperate to stop taking plastic bag at the shopping places 49Figure 4.28: Education and willingness to cooperate by how people accept to stop taking plastic bag at the shopping places 49Figure 4.29: The acceptance of strategies to reduce plastic bags 50

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CO2 Carbon dioxide

CO2e Carbon dioxide equivalent

EPS Expanded polystyrene

GAIA Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives

GHG Greenhouse gas

HDPE High-Density Polyethylene

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change

LDPE Low-Density Polyethylene

LLPE Linear Low-Density Polyethylene

MONRE Ministry of National Resources and Environment

kWh kilowatt - hour

PET Polypropylene terephthalate

PLA Polylactic acid

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

WRAP Waste and Resource Action Program

ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substainces and Disease Registry

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I’m grateful to our faculty lectures of the Master in Climate Change and

Development Program, Vietnam Japan University, who has given me many

guidance to process my project

I’m very thankful to my supervisors - Dr Ryo Takeuchi and Assoc.Prof

Makoto Tamura, who provided insight and expertise that greatly assisted the

research and always encourages me, and to Bui Thi Hoa – MCCD program

assistant for helping me during doing survey, and to my classmates Tieu Thi

Diu, who was patient to help me while I was processing the data I want to

express my appreciation to the lectures, staffs in Ibaraki University and friend

especially Suziki Shunya for supporting me so much during the internship

I would like to show my appreciation to all of friends who helps me to share

my survey, and to everyone who spend time to review and give the

comments

Finally, I would like to express our gratitude to all the people who help me by

providing their valuable assistance and time for this study

Nguyen Thi Dang Hue

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research background

Increasing plastic waste poses threat to globally sustainable development as they are destroying ocean ecosystem and sustain in the environment for hundreds of years Plastic production is one of the industrial production activities causing serious pollution to the air environment (Center for International Environmental Law, 2019) The amount of harmful emissions with extremely unpleasant odors seriously affects the health of those exposed

In the process of burning plastic will produce toxic substances, including 3 toxic gases: CO2, SO2 and vinyl chloride In the long term, they also affect the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect

The plastic production in global scale has been increasing rapidly since past

50 years When comparing the global production of 1950, which respectively accounts for 2 million tones, annual production has increased nearly 200-fold, reaching 381 million tones by 2015 (Plastic global production, 2018) While the impacts of plastic waste causing to the environment, the ecosystem, especially the marine ecosystem have been clearly shown, the effects of plastic on climate change are gradually being clarified (Center for International Environmental Law, 2019) The plastic production is highly dependent on fossil coal, a non-renewable resource In 2019, the burning and production of plastic contributed 850 million metric tons of GHG to the atmosphere This is equivalent to emissions from 189 megawatt coal fired power plant

By 2030, this amount of emissions could reach 1.34 gigatons per year if plastic production and use grow under the current plan This is equivalent to emissions from more than 295 new 500 MW coal fired power plants By

2050, the accumulation of these GHGs emissions from plastics can exceed 56 gigatons per year, accounting for 10-13% of the remaining carbon budget, the plastics industry can account for 20% of the world's total oil consumption The increase of GHGs emission from plastic sector will threat the ability of global communities to limit the total global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius and making efforts to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in October 2018 highlighted in an IPCC special report on the impact of global warming of 1.5 degree Celsius

In particular, plastic product packaging (plastic bags, plastic bottles, product packaging) accounts for about 36% Plastic construction materials, household appliances and other types of industries such as electronics, electricity, and transportation account for 16%, 36% and 12% respectively (United Nation Environmental Programme, 2018) In 2015, plastic packaging waste accounted for 47% of the world's plastic waste, half of which seemed to come from Asia

Vietnam, China, Indonesia and Philippines are among top 20 countries produce the highest amount of plastic waste to ocean Vietnam is ranked as the fourth country that discharge plastic waste into the ocean with 1.83 million metric tons per years, after China in the first place with 8,82 million metric tons, Indonesia in the second place with 3.22 million tons, Philippines

in the third place with 1.88 million metric tons (Jambeck et al., 2015)

According to the National Environment Report in 2015, solid waste is mainly treated by dumping or incineration The main sources of waste are Hanoi city, Hai Phong city and Ho Chi Minh city With the proportion of products in the total volume of plastic products produced annually, plastic packaging in

Vietnam has an average output of about 1 million tons/year According to previous data, the average consumption of plastic is about 25 – 35kg plastic/person/year Up to now, with the growth rate of plastic industry of about 15 – 20%/year, at the same time the economic life is growing, the average plastic consumption reaches more than 40kg/person/year

Along with future economic and population development, the amount of plastic waste will also increase rapidly, while land fund for landfill is shrinking, outdated waste treatment technology, create a heavy burden on the environment and human health

In addition to the single - use plastic waste treatment measures such as applying modern treatment technology, sorting waste from sources, taxes and prohibited laws, reducing the use of single - use plastic from consumers is a solution in the context of a developing country like Vietnam Therefore, it is necessary to raise people’s awareness on environmental impact of plastic waste and understand level of willingness to reduce the use of single-use plastic The study will present the current situation of single – use plastic consumption in Hanoi And the results will be valued as the base for policy makers to issue regulation or to organize media campaign to reduce single – use plastic waste

1.2 Motivation

Given the fact that plastic pollution becomes urgent all over the world in general and in Vietnam in particular, there is a lack of study on Vietnamese

people’s awareness on single – use plastic consumption

In the context of the Government of Vietnam efforts to eliminate disposable plastic year by 2025 and prevent the amount of waste spilled into the ocean by the Prime Minister's decision to promulgate a national action plan on ocean

plastic waste management by 2030 On 9th June, 2019, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated Vietnam has aimed to stop selling single – use plastic at supermarket by 2021 Hanoi City President Nguyen Duc Chung also said Hanoi will make efforts to December 2020 to ban plastic bags in all shopping centers As impacted by global movement on anti-plastic waste, Vietnamese government has organized media campaign to raise people’s awareness on plastic waste harmfulness

1.3 Purpose of the study

The aim of the research is to provide the information relate to Hanoi population’s attitudes towards the consumption of single-use plastic bags by showing their level of willingness to reduce

This research also identified the Hanoi population’s awareness of human health impact and environmental impacts caused by single –use plastic

Base on the results, some recommendations will be given This result may be used by any organizations such as Government authorities, non-profit organization, or individuals in order to create the strategies and take actions based on the actual attitudes

1.4 Scope

The study is aimed at people from 18 years old and older living in Hanoi By creating an online questionnaire using Google forms, both closed and open; and face to face survey The questionnaire will be sent to respondents via Facebook social networks The link to the questionnaire will be posted on the researcher's Facebook and ask everyone in the friends list to share it with others, to increase the diversity of respondents

1.7 Structure of the thesis

Six chapters were designed in this thesis, as presented as below:

 Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter briefly introduces about the background of research, research objective, research questions and scope

 Chapter 2: Literature review

This part provides the fundamental information about single – use plastic, the relationship between plastic and climate change and reducing plastic related climate change mitigation

 Chapter 3: Research Methodology

The process of the research, sample size and data collection, the data analysis method are described

 Chapter 4: Results presentation and finding

This chapter presents the data collected and show the results after analysis from Excel and Chi- square

 Chapter 5: Discussion

The research question will be answered in this part, adding more information

to explain and the result from expert interview

The discussion about reducing plastic and climate change mitigation

 Chapter 6: Conclusion and recommendation

Summary the main issue from data analysis and discussion, giving some suggestions, also limitations and further research direction

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Single – use plastic

According to United Nations Environment, single-use plastics, or disposable plastics, are used only once before they are thrown away or recycled Single – use plastic is made of plastic which is lightweight, sanitary, frustrate material These items are things like plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda water bottles, containers, cups, cutlery and most food packaging

In 2015, the waste of plastic packing occupied for 47% of the global plastic waste generated, Asian a lone contributed half of the total

Figure 2.1: Disposal of all plastic waste generated in 2015 (Roland Geyer et

al., 2017) Once no longer in use, a product or package may be recycled, incinerated, buried, dumped in an uncontrolled location, or disposed of into the environment Because of the percentage of recycling is just 9 %, 12 %, so the most of the plastic waste was solve by landfills or dumping into the environment (Roland Geyer et al., 2017)

Plastic cannot be biodegraded It will take hundreds of years for them to split

up into small pieces that known as micro-plastics Especially, the productions made of expanded polystyrene foam might need thousands of years to decompose

If plastic waste leaks into the environment, it will cause problems Plastic bags can block waterways and worsen natural disasters by clogging sewers Plastic bags and bottles also provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes and pests, which can increase diarrhea and infectious diseases Polystyrene foam products, containing carcinogenic chemicals like styrene and benzene, are highly toxic when ingested and can damage the nervous system, lungs and reproductive organs The toxins in the foam can seep into food and drinks In poor countries, plastic waste is often burned by heat and cooking, and people are exposed to toxic gases Burning and disposing of plastic waste in an outdoor pit releases toxic gases such as furan and Dioxin (United Nation Environmental Programme, 2018)

The application of plastic for single – use production is various LDPE is material for plastic bags, trays, food packing film and containers Water bottles and other drinks, biscuit trays, dispensing boxes for cleaning fluids are made of PET Milk bottles, bags for freezers, soap bottles, ice cream containers are made of HDPE PS can be used to make cutlery, plates and cups EPS is applied to produce hot drinks cups, insulated food packing, fragile items with protective packing There are some familiar products like microwave dishes, ice cream tubs, potato chip bags, bottle caps are made of

PP

When it first came out, plastic bags were considered an alternative to paper bags at the time to reduce deforestation and timber in the 1960s When at that time, paper bags were the common way to carry and carry things (Petru, 2014) When it was first launched in the US in the 1970s, plastic bags were not quickly accepted by consumers at the time Manufacturers of plastic bags have resorted to media campaigns to try to change consumer attitudes in actively accepting plastic bags It was not until 1977 that American supermarkets began to provide plastic bags to consumers when shopping Europe began to supply them consistently in the 1980s In the 1990s, developing countries began to popularize plastic bags Today, plastic bags become popular worldwide with between 500 billion and 1.5 trillion plastic bags used for shopping each year (Jennifer Clapp et al., 2009)

Single-use plastic bags are widely used because they are tough, cheap and hygienic to transport goods Plastic grocery bags consume less energy and water to produce and produce less solid waste than paper bags, taking up less space in landfills The advantages of plastic bags have helped them to be widely consumed and become globally popular However, they are also difficult to recycle and adversely affect the environment, especially when we lack in management (United Nation Environmental Programme, 2018)

According to zero waste Europe, there are three basic types of normal plastic bags and 1 type of degradable plastic bags In particularly, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) bags are used for making unbranded bags and is often used in markets, service stations and grocery stores HDPE bags are produced from ethylene and are by-products of gas or oil purification In the US, these types of bags used in grocery stores and supermarkets usually have a thickness from 0.7 to 1.75 mils, including the handle straps The fact that these types of bags have handles to distinguish them from bags used only to wrap foods such as vegetables, meat, fish at each counter to bring to the cashier Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) bags are branded printed bags and are used at places that sell higher value goods at shopping malls or stores These types of bag usually have a thickness range from 2.25 to 3 mils in general LDPE is also a side product of gas or oil filtration and is also made from ethylene (Wagner, 2017) Non-woven Polypropylene is the type of plastic used to make reusable bags

In recent years, biodegradable plastic bags are also a product of public attention to replace conventional plastic bags These types of bags have the ability to decompose through the action of bacteria, algae, fungi Synthetic or biological polyesters such as potatoes, corn, sugar are material to make biodegradable bags (ICF, 2010) However, biodegradable bags cost more than plastic bag; therefore, the manufacturers and retailers are not interested in promoting the use of bio-bags (MESTECC, 2018)

The recycling rate of plastic bags is quite low There is no exact statistics on the number of plastic bags once recovered and reused According to a report

by the US Environmental Protection Agency, 2015 plastic bag recovery rate was 12.3%, down 1.2% compared to 2013 (US EPA, 2015) Normally, if plastic bags are collected and recycled, they will have to be sorted at source to

avoid mixing with other types of recycling, affecting quality However, the cost for sorting is high and the recycling value of plastic bags is very low Therefore, plastic bags are considered as disposable products The recycling

of plastic bags is mainly based on individual people, which can be used more than once, such as storage of household items, garbage, and containers when taken out (WRAP, 2015)

Nevertheless, even when plastic bags can be reused, it depends on the consumer's personal awareness and it is important that they still become garbage in landfills, in incinerators or thrown out into the environment From

a study of ICF International in California in 2010 about Master Environmental Assessment on Single – Use and Reusable bags, the life cycle

of the single – use plastic can be displayed in figure 3 below

Figure 2.2: Single- use plastic bags life cycle (ICF International, 2010)

2.1.2 Plastic takeaway food containers

In the report of Plastic Food Containers Market 2019, Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast -2024, plastic food containers are defined as the container that hold foods in the form of boxes, cans, or jars These plastic containers are used for takeaway, take out or order food online

Polystyrene was discovered in 1839, was produced in the 1930s, was first foamed in the 1940s and first sold as a cup of coffee in the 1960s.The term polystyrene refers to a polymer (long-chain molecule) of styrene monomers (smaller molecules) Many gases have been used to pump it into the foam The raw material produced is hydrocarbon including ethylene and benzene from oil and natural gas (SEJ, 2019)

Foamed plastic is the most used material for the production of takeaway food containers It is also known as Styrofoam There are two main types of Styrofoam: foam polystyrenes and foam polyurethanes Foam polystyrenes can be further classified - based on the manufacturing method - into expanded polystyrenes (EPS) and extruded polystyrenes (XPS) Because lightweight products - such as plastic bags - can easily get blown away by the wind They can float in water and break into small highly toxic fragments entering the food chain These products also take thousands of years to decompose (United Nation Environmental Programme, 2018)

Styrofoam will cause long-term environmental impacts because it takes more than 500 years to decompose Like plastic bags, Styrofoam boxes can be recycled, however, because the collection and disposal costs are much higher than the profits, all the one-time Styrofoam boxes or food containers are discarded after the first use (Barnes, 2011) These types of foam boxes are

capable of causing cancer and complications of the nervous system, respiratory, reproductive, kidney and liver Because they contain toxic chemicals like styrene and benzene The toxins are more easily absorbed into food and drink through reheating (ATSDR, 2020)

The takeaway food market has grown rapidly due to its convenience and competitive prices Global delivery market, valued at $89 billion in 2015, is expected to grow 2.7% per year to more than $102 billion by 2020 (TechNavio, 2016)

In Vietnam, The Southeast Asia Digital Economy Report, published by the Google partner group, Vietnam's technology ride-hailing market, which includes food delivery, has now reached the $1 billion mark this year From now until the next 6 years, this market will continue to maintain a compound annual growth rate of nearly 40%, to reach the scale of 4 billion USD in 2025 (Vietnam Television, 2019)

2.2 Plastic issue and climate change

2.2.1 Heat emissions from crude oil making

According to “the use of crude oil in plastic making contributes to global warming” (Gervet, 2007), the net generation from plastic making is overestimated Unfortunately, it is not possible to know the amount of plastic that already burnt or decomposed Moreover, it is not known whether to crude oil production reports consider the oil related raw material in plastic making The net heat generation from the use of crude oil in plastic making is roughly 0.414 kWh from 1939 – 2000 It corresponds to 1.3% of the missing heat and contributes to 0.5% of the global warming Its contribution is about the same magnitude with the gas flaring, less than impact of nuclear power, but more than coal fires The contribution of plastic production and disposal to climate

change has been largely hidden which estimates the GHGs footprint of plastic from the cradle to the grave for the first time (Center for International Environmental Law, 2019)

After the extraction of fossil fuels to produce plastic, the carbon footprint of a material which has become ubiquitous across the globe continues through the refining process, and on well past its useful life as a drinks bottle or plastic bag, through the way it is disposed of and the plastic afterlife, most of plastic items sustain for more than 200 years in the environment prior to decay so most of them are dumped into landfill

2.2.2 Greenhouse gases emission from plastic waste treatment

As mentioned before, plastic products contribute directly or indirectly to greenhouse gas emissions, from production to refining and transport The effects of plastic products on the climate do not end when they are thrown away They will continue to be a climate threat through the disposal of plastic waste such as recycling, landfill, incineration, and an amount of waste that is freely dumped into the environment Among these types of disposable packaging, plastic packing is one of the types that cause the most problems because of the unique, disposable packaging characteristics Therefore, plastic packing accounts for 40% of the total waste

According to the report published by Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) about the hidden climate polluter from plastic incineration, plastic packaging burns an additional 16 million tons of GHG into the atmosphere at a global level This is equivalent to more than 2.7 million households using electricity every year If the petrochemical industry expands

by 2050, GHG emissions from burning plastic packaging will increase to 309 million tons These estimates only account for plastic packaging, which

accounts for 40% of total plastic waste and 64% of plastic packaging waste is managed after use This is just over a quarter of plastic waste Therefore, the potential for much bigger climate impacts still comes to rest

Plastic waste is still increasing, and greenhouse gas emissions from plastic waste incineration have also increased despite the urgency of addressing plastic pollution and climate change by reducing plastic use and burning The quantity of gases emitted from dumping grounds and landfill sites depends considerably on the air temperature and climatic season It increases when the temperature is high and the emission quantity in summer is higher than in winter It is estimated that in the degradation process of garbage, 30%

of the gas emission from landfill sites can lead to the ground surface without any intervention Greenhouse effect due to the emission of CH4 and CO2

Burning waste produces carbon dioxide and smoke containing particles harmful to health, but smoke also contains small black particles that have a significant impact on the climate in the short term The amount of soot is maximized when the garbage contains two types of plastic: polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate (commonly abbreviated as PET, commonly used in the manufacture of beverage bottles) When burning waste containing fiber, many of which are plastic and soot emissions rise (Natalia et al, 2019)

Black carbon from burning open waste has an effect of global warming equivalent to 2% to 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions If this situation does not change, this problem is set to get worse as the amount of waste we throw away is expected to increase by 70% by 2050

Compared to other plastics and organic wastes, large carbon black emission factors are observed, especially with PET and polystyrene, which means these resins are a major source of overall black carbon (Natalia et al, 2019)

2.2.3 Greenhouse gases emission from plastic

In 2018, a study from Hawaii University led by Sarah - Jeanne Royer showed that the increasing accumulation of plastics in the environment contributes to climate change These effects are the result of plastic exposure to solar radiation in a decaying or degrading environment The study also shows that

of the most commonly used plastics worldwide, LDPE, the most abundant plastic found in the ocean, releases methane, ethylene, ethane and propylene at the highest levels Another finding suggests that the larger the surface area of the plastic, the greater the release of greenhouse gases For example, sanitized LDPE produces methane up to 488 times faster than pellet form at the same weight

The study has proven that plastics exposed to sunlight produce more gas LDPE releases about twice as much methane and 76 times as much ethylene when exposed to air than when incubated in water As such, the plastic floating on the ocean surface and the plastic on the shallow environment emit greenhouse gases even though it has not been mentioned

After a period of survival in the environment, the plastic exposed to environmental conditions such as temperature, light, and moisture will begin

to weaken, often becoming brittle and breaking into small pieces In water like the ocean, biodegradation, oxidative degradation, thermal degradation, hydrolysis and solar radiation contribute to greenhouse gas production

This finding suggests that a large amount of greenhouse gases from plastic waste has not been shown in the past And that amount of greenhouse gases tends to increase as the amount of plastic and plastic thrown into the environment still increases every year (Andrady, 2011)

2.2.4 Impact on the oceanic carbon sink

The ocean becomes the largest reservoir of greenhouse gases to absorb greenhouse gases It absorbed 30% to 50% of the total CO2 from the industrial era in the late 18th century The problem of plastic waste in the ocean emitting greenhouse gases has been mentioned in many studies However, in addition to those direct effects, a recent study also pointed out that the indirect impact of plastic waste on the ocean affects climate change through its impact

on the activities of living organisms like Plankton, what brings carbon to the bottom of the ocean (Tim de Vries et al., 2017)

Plankton in the ocean includes phytoplankton and zooplankton They all play different roles but are related to the absorption of CO2 and transport

to the ocean floor Phytoplankton is capable of photosynthesis absorbing nearly half of the atmospheric CO2 Not only does it play a role in producing the first food chain for the ocean, plankton also contributes to 80% of the world's total oxygen (Sarah Witman, 2017)

However, recent laboratory studies have shown that micro-plastic in water can harm to Plankton The smaller the micro-plastic size, the greater the potential for harm This directly affects their ability to absorb CO2 and produce oxygen Laboratory experiments have shown that the phytoplankton are poisoned by micro-plastic, reducing CO2 absorption by

up to 45% The research proves that phytoplankton easily integrate and form aggregates with microflora particles when they are in water (Gallo et al., 2018)

In addition to harm and adversely affect the uptake of carbon on the ocean surface by phytoplankton, plastic also harms zooplankton and transports carbon to the ocean floor One can imagine phytoplankton as a carbon

fixture, while zooplankton will play a role in transporting deep into the ocean Without this activity, the CO2 absorbed by phytoplankton would quickly be released back to the surface of the water and into the atmosphere

Figure below illustrates the role of plankton in carbon exchange between atmosphere and ocean

Figure 2.3: Plankton processes (Andrew Brierly, 2017)

However, the presence of micro-plastic in the ocean has caused the zooplanktons to confuse it as food When zooplanktons are contaminated with micro-plastic, its ability to absorb phytoplankton decreases by 40% Next, the

consequence of plastic poisoning is that the eggs of the zooplankton become smaller, with a higher mortality rate (Cole et al., 2016)

In the study of Cole et al., also indicated that, when zooplankton eat phytoplankton, the carbon they absorb is transported to the deep sea in pellet form The pellets slowly fall into the deep sea, where it settles into the mud on the sea floor Studies show that microorganisms are transported below the surface of the plankton However, if the pellets are contaminated with particles, they will sink slowly and break more easily Therefore, the function

of transporting carbon into the deep sea of plankton is greatly affected

2.3 Waste management in Vietnam

According to Vietnam Standard about normal solid waste classification

(TCVN 6705-2009), solid waste is classified as follows:

Domestic solid waste: including solid waste generated from households, commercial businesses and agencies;

Construction waste: Waste generated from construction /demolition activities; Ordinary industrial solid waste: Waste generated from processing and non-processing industries including craft villages

According to the report of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) at the National Conference on Environment Protection, while the ability to deal with waste is limited, Vietnam created more than 7 million tons

of industrial solid waste, more than 23 million ton of domestic waste every year (N.T.D et al., 2019)

In addition to indiscriminate dumping of waste, the disposal of waste collected at official waste disposal sites does not conform to international design standards and is inefficiently operated Waste management in Vietnam

currently lacks the principle of "polluters pay" with very low fees hitting households and other emission units, and at least 80% of the costs are generated by the Government subsidized The actual collection, sorting, treatment and landfill activities are carried out by state urban environmental companies Waste collection rates are reported to be around 85% of the population in urban areas and 40% in rural areas, although actual figures may

be lower About 63% of collected waste goes to landfills and 22% (about 14,000 tons / day) is taken to different treatment facilities (recycling accounts for 10%, compost compost 4%, and incinerates 14 %) There are currently about 105 waste treatment units, including small-capacity incinerators (42%), composting plants (24%), facilities incorporating composting incinerators and incinerators (24%), and other technologies (10%) The total installed capacity

is 17,600 tons /day (World Bank, 2018)

Figure 2.4: Waste collection process (World Bank, 2018)

According to a report by the Ministry of Construction, there are 660 landfills

in Vietnam receiving 20.200 tons of waste daily Out of these 660 waste disposal sites across the country, only 30% are classified as valid landfills

(sanitary landfills require daily covering of rubbish, which is often uncommon

in Vietnam) The big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City also have large burial sites with 85 and 130 hectares respectively Only 9% of landfills have weight, and 36% have a bottom lining Most landfills do not have presses, gas collection systems, leachate treatment systems, environmental monitoring systems and management constraints, mainly due to lack of funding (MONRE, 2019)

2.4 Mitigating plastic related greenhouse gas emissions

There are some options to reduce the GHGs from single – use plastic sector, plastic packing If 14 million Mt of plastic packing can be reduced to 7 million Mt, 14.85 million Mt CO2e could have been prevented (US EPA, 2009)

Another USEPA study compared climate change mitigation by different waste management practices such as waste source recycling, recycling, incineration, composting and landfill Specifically, the study will test and compare on different types of waste including HDPE, LDPE and PET The results show that the option to reduce plastic waste is most effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions If the amount of waste were reduced by the 1990s, 18 million Mt of CO2e could be cut This is a significant contribution to climate mitigation (US EPA, 2006)

Figure 2.5: Net greenhouse gas emissions from source reduction and municipal solid waste management option (US EPA, 2006)

The figure above shows that reducing the source of waste and recycling benefits in reducing climate, in which source reduction is the highest Meanwhile, burning waste adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and with the current rate of increasing plastic waste, the amount of greenhouse gases also increases rapidly

As a result of the amount of greenhouse gases from burning plastic waste, this type of waste disposal plan should be considered for disposal Even when plastic waste is being processed by burning to generate electricity, this form consumes more energy, and results in further emissions of greenhouse gases During incineration, waste is often mixed with leftovers, organic waste, that contains water, so that the amount of glass will produce more than normal because of the energy loss process (GAIA, 2019)

IPPC and several other organizations have measured GHGs emissons and method to reducing the emssion Although, there are some different ways to approach but the common target are the similar that to keep the temperature

increasing 1.5C or below 2C If the production, consumption, and incineration after use continues to increase, the goal of keeping the warming below 1.5oC will be ruined (Luke, 2018)

By 2030, these emissions could reach 1.34 gigatons per year - the equivalent

of more than 296 coal plants with the scale five –hundred –megawatt It is estimated that by 2050, plastic production and plastic incineration will contribute an additional 56 million tons of CO2e, equivalent to more than 10%

of global carbon footprint And by the end of the century, plastic emissions could account for one-fourth of total emissions, higher than energy groups, economic activities, transport and land use

Under the agreement of the countries in the Paris agreement, the countries agreed to keep global warming below 2C However, these commitments have not been achieved (UNEP, 2018) Therefore, the plastic production and waste disposal activities has no room to emit The urgent requirement is to cut emissions from the plactic sector

As mentioned, emissions from the plastic's life cycle indicate that the plastic itself has caused the problem Reducing emissions during plastic manufacturing is only partially, because burning plastic waste contributes a large amount of emissions Therefore, a very effective way to reduce emissions is to reduce plastic consumption

At the 2019 global climate conference in Mandrid, experts from many countries discussed the content of plastic waste, reducing plastic waste to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Acorrding to the press release of EIT Climate-KIC, the discussion was chaired by EIT Climate-KIC, Europe's largest public-private partner, to address climate change through innovation The event will be co-sponsored by the non-profit non-governmental

organization, the Asia-Europe Foundation, to focus on developing a network

to strengthen the relationship between Asia and Europe by establishing a platform to share learning experiences and exchange ideas

Compared to addressing climate change, it is much easier to solve the plastic emissions challenge It will cost less money, less time, less problems and fewer stakeholders And once the plastic sector's emissions are addressed, climate change is also addressed

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research process

Figure 3.1: Research process proposed by the author

3.2 Sampling and data collection

The primary data were gathered by author to find out the awareness of Hanoi people and their willingness to reduce single – use plastic, in which the data were collected as below:

The number of questionnaires were created online via google doc form is 217 And 50 questionnaires were done face to face

The advantage of implementing an online questionnaire is that it can reach many respondents at the same time, saving costs, time, and respondents can easily make honest choices without fear of being judged However, those who responded online are young people, have access to modern technology and

feel familiar with this form In addition, the online questionnaire does not guarantee gender balance among respondents So, direct interviews have been added to balance the above issue

3.3 Questionnaire design

The questionnaire is divided in four parts, with 23 questions:

Part A: Consumption behavior (question 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11)

Part B: Environmental impact awareness (question 13, 14, 15)

Part C: Willingness to reduce (question 6, 7, 12, 16, 17, 18)

Part D: Background information (question from 19-23)

This study focused on 2 types of single – use plastics: plastic bags and plastic takeaway food containers The questions were divided equally between the two categories, except for the last question about the option to reduce the use

of single – use plastic bags Complementary questionnaire completed based

on the research experience of the research on willingness to reduce the use of plastic bags before The results of that survey were not included in the total number of questionnaires

3.4 Statistic method

After collecting data, the results will be processed on Excel Chi – square p –value in Excel will be used to compare the variables in contingency table if they are related

A Chi – square test will issue a p – value The p – value will present if the results are significant or not (Statistic how to, 2020)

If p ≤ 0.05, the data fit the expected data extremely well

If p > 0.05, the data doesn’t fit well The result is not significant

The formula for Chi – square statistic used in the Chi – square test is:

a direct interview After receiving consent, an interview took place for about

60 minutes at the office of the Legislation Department Topically designed questions related to the research questionnaire to understand assessors' opinions, what programs have been implemented and will be implemented in the future, solutions to mitigation issues disposable plastic in Hanoi from the expert perspective

49.2% of the total population) The population in suburban districts is 3.823.100 people (accounting for 50.8% of the total population) In the period

of 2018 to 2030, with the goal of developing strategies and plans (financial)

on options for improvement of solid waste management, the urban population

is expected to increase and the rural population will continue keep decreasing Hanoi is one of the three cities along with Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong with the largest amount of domestic waste nationwide (world bank, 2018) In Hanoi, between 4,000 and 5,000 tons of waste products day, plastic waste accounts for 7 – 8%, about 80 tons of plastic and nylon are discharged into the

environment (MONRE, 2011) The volume of solid wastes in Hanoi increase

on an average of 15%/year (MONRE, 2017) It is estimated that the waste collection rate was 95% in inner district and 60% in outer district; this rate was 80%-90% for industrial solid waste and 60 – 70% for hazardous wastes According to incomplete statistics of MONRE, each household uses 5 – 7 plastic bag/day

To facilitate the survey in the city area, the questionnaire was designed on google and shared on social networks like Facebook To increase the diversity

of the respondents The questionnaire will be asked for wider sharing All citizens 18 years of age and older, who are living in Hanoi can participate in the survey

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS

4.1 Background information

Figure 4.1: Gender and aged of respondent

As the results of the questionnaire implementation, 257 responses were obtained from the distribution of the questionnaire Among the respondents, 56% was female, 44 % was male The efforts have been made to provide fair questionnaires among potential respondents to gain representation from both sexes However, the number of female and male wasn’t be equal

During the implementation of the questionnaire, attempts were made to reach potential respondents to gain representation from all age groups Figure 4.2 depicts that the highest number of responses came from people under 26 to 35 years of age (41%) Respondents from 18 to 25 years of age correspond to 30% of the sample, followed by 20% from 36 to 45 years old and then, 5% from 46 to 55 years old and 4% from group of age more than 55

Figure 4.2: Education level

As figure 4.3 illustrates more than half of the interviewees (56%) went to University and 18% attend college or vocational school, after university level accounts for 10% of respondents For low education level, 9% of the respondents went to high school, 7% went to secondary school None of the respondents with the highest educational attainment is primary

4.2 Consumption behavior

4.2.1 Single-use plastic containers

Figure 4.3: Number of single - use plastic container per week in general

Results from figure 4.4 show the situation of using disposable plastic containers and foam boxes of people in Hanoi The choices were divided into five different groups, respondents usually use one to three with the highest 45%, followed by up to 27% of respondents who said they did not use plastic

or foam boxes 1 week, a small number of the group using 4 to 6 pieces a week

is 15%, 10% is the representative of the respondents from 7 to 10 pieces a week, there are still people using more than 10 boxes a week with 3% modest

Figure 4.4: Number of single - use plastic container used base on gender per

week (p > 0.05)

In order to understand more specifically the level of willingness to reduce dependence on gender, this chart was created to compare the differences between the two sex groups However, there is not much difference in the level of use of these two groups