VietNamNet Bridge - A Vietnamese company has released its first batch of self-dissolving plastic bags – a product that promises to solve a big environmental problem.

Sale people at Fivimart on Tran Quang Khai Street package products for customers in self-dissolving plastic bags.

An over-consumption of ultra-thin plastic bags that take dozens of years to break down is causing serious environmental damage. The bags block waterways, threaten wildlife and pile up in the city and the countryside by the millions.

These new self-dissolving plastic bags, however, break down into H2O, CO2 and tiny plastic fragments after just a few months when left out in the open and under the sun. The powder continues to break down into the soil without any negative impacts, according to the researchers behind the bags.

The product is the brainchild of the Centre for Studying and Producing Bio Products (CSPBP), Institute of Industrial Chemistry (Vinachem) and New Technology Investment Company.

Dr Nguyen Duc Kham, CSPBP’s director, revealed that the secret lies in the mix of bio-polymers and natural polymers extracted from natural materials found in the country.

The price of the bio-product is presently just 3-5 per cent more than normal plastic bags, since the price of plastic has recently fallen.

According to Kham, major customers will be nurseries who will use the bags to cover seedling, young vegetables or land surfaces in coffee farms to prevent evaporation.

The bags should help farmers, who will no longer have to collect waste wrappings, he explained.

The producers are also trying to bring their products to the mainstream market, particularly in grocery stores. The bags are currently available at two supermarkets in Ha Noi, at the Fivimarts on Tran Vu and Tran Quang Khai streets as part of a pilot project.

Why go green?

Plastic bags, particularly those that are extra-thin, are generally used to carry cookingstuffs, goods and rubbish. The flimsy bags are usually only used once before they are thrown away.

Plastic bags cause serious environmental problems, and have already been outlawed in many countries such as Uganda and South Africa.

China has banned the distribution of free plastic bags, a practice that used to be common in shops and supermarkets, forcing customers to pay for the bags starting June 1, hopefully raising awareness on excessive use.

In Viet Nam, Kham estimates that at least 30 per cent of the population uses plastic bags on a regular basis. If each person throws out one bag a day, that translates into 3 million bags littering the environment.

Floating bags cause serious harm to waterways, blocking sewers, rivers and canals. There is virtually no motivation to recycle plastic bags, as it is an expensive practice.

It can take dozens of years for the bags to dissolve, depending on the type. The convenience of the bags makes it difficult to discourage use, which is why this product helps minimise the negative effects on the environment.

“It’s a great idea to have self-dissolving bags,” said Thanh Binh, a 33 year-old office worker. “I will certainly buy them as long as the price is reasonable.

“I am aware of the dangers caused by these thin plastic bags in the environment, but I still find myself throwing several bags out every day.”

Binh continued that shoppers use a large number of super-thin bags because they are given out for free and considered clean. When she thinks about the negative impacts on the environment, however, she realises they aren’t that clean at all.

How they do it

Borrowing from foreign technology, the centre for bio products has been experimenting with the self-dissolving plastic since 1998. They weren’t able to launch the products commercially until last October.

The dissolving bags have been tested by the Ministry of Health’s Food Hygiene and Safety Department, and have been certified as suitable to carry food. They were also tested for durability and capacity to disintegrate by the Directorate for Standards and Quality.

Some members of the public, however, have expressed scepticism about the dangers of small fragments of plastics out in the environment. Nguyen Tien Dung, a former engineering student, expressed some concern about the hazards of the tiny fragments.

“I am afraid that the tiny particles will last forever, even though we can’t see them,” he noted. “This could be even more dangerous than plastic bags.”

Vinachem vice director, Dr Pham The Trinh, confirmed that the fragments fully disintegrate into CO2 and H20 only after several years.

Trinh noted, however, that it was impossible for the fragments to contaminate vegetables.

Kham, who specialises in bio-polymers, noted that they had the technology to produce a polymer that would completely disintegrate into CO2 and H2O within a few months, but that the finished product would be two or three times more expensive.

Market factors would surely push customers away from these expensive ‘green’ products.

“If we had State support or subsidies, we would be able to produce a polymer that could disintegrate into CO2 and H2O,” he said.

Dr Cao Ky Son, director of the centre for studies on soil and chemicals, has been studying the effects of the fragments. He would not comment on the product, saying he needed at least six months for testing.

A lecturer in civil engineering, Phung My Hanh recommended that people stop using plastic bags and return to carrying cloth bags, and baskets, helping to save both money and the environment.

(Source: VNS)