WORDS ON THE STREET 70th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day Vietnam - Asia 2023 Smart City Summit Hanoi celebrates 15 years of administrative boundary adjustment 12th Vietnam-France decentrialized cooperation conference 31st Sea Games - Vietnam 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic
Home / Health & Education
Hospitals in Vietnam to stop using plastic bags: Minister
Anh Kiet 19:04, 2019/08/16
From now on, Vietnam`s health sector will replace disposable plastic products with those made from environmentally-friendly or reusable materials.
Hospitals in Vietnam are asked to stop using non-biodegradable nylon with a view to reducing plastic waste in the health sector, Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien stressed at a teleconference in Hanoi on August 16.
 
Hue General Hospital replaces disposable plastic water bottles with glass bottles during meetings. Photo: Thu Lan
Hue General Hospital replaces disposable plastic water bottles with glass bottles during meetings. Photo: Thu Lan
Tien cited that Vietnam has more than 13,000 medical facilities attending more than 150 million patients and over 300 million outpatients per year. As a Vietnamese practice, a patient is not hospitalized alone but often with one or two relatives to take care of him/her. They together discharge a huge amount of waste. About 5% or 22 tons of daily medical waste is plastic.

"The majority of plastic waste is non-biodegradable nylon bags, " Tien said.

The minister requested that from now on the health sector will replace disposable plastic products with those made from environmentally-friendly or reusable materials. Medical staff and patients will not use hoods, shoe covers, medicine bags and waste bags made of plastic.

Some hospitals are now minimizing the use of plastic utensils. Hue General Hospital in the central province of Thua Thien - Hue is applying the 3Rs model which is Reduce – Reuse – Recycle. During the hospital meetings, the delegates drink water from glass cups and bottles instead of plastic ones.

In the first four months of 2019, health facilities in Binh Dinh province have treated more than 73 tons of hazardous waste, of them 6.5 tons of plastic waste can be recycled. Thanks to recycling and reusing plastic bags, hospitals in Binh Dinh have reduced 10,000 plastic bags of volume of 15 liters each discharged to the environment.


According to statistics from the European Commission, by 2018, about 8.3 billion tons of plastic products were produced, of which 6.3 billion tons became waste, 5 billion tons were accumulated in the environment or buried. Every year, about 4.8-12.7 million tons of plastic waste are discharged into the ocean.
Other news
15:08, 2024/11/16
Hanoi warns against mukbang trend of eating raw and unfamiliar foods
A communication campaign has been in place for the dissemination of information on food safety regulations in Hanoi.
07:12, 2024/11/12
2024 International Youth Festival attracts 3,000 local and international youth
The 2024 International Youth Festival helped Hanoi’s youth connect and promote the city's culture and tourism to international friends.
21:50, 2024/11/11
Hanoi launches pilot project to integrate electronic health records into VNeID app
The system allows citizens to conveniently manage their medical histories and provides medical professionals with up-to-date information anytime, anywhere.
19:23, 2024/11/07
Empowering new generation of biodiversity champions in Vietnam
These EU-supported events provide a platform to showcase successful sustainability initiatives and inspire additional green actions.
18:52, 2024/11/04
Capital Law to make Hanoi major center for quality education
Hanoi is a hub for talent from all over the country.
16:29, 2024/11/01
Hanoi raises road safety awareness among students
The Hanoi authorities have stepped up communication to heighten the sense of responsibility of families and schools in maintaining road safety.