Hoi An town to host “Day without plastic bags”

The ancient town of Hoi An, a world heritage site, will host a “Day without plastic bags – The Nature Day” for the first time on Sept. 9.
The event which will be held annually from now on is a joint initiative of the Centre in Support of Combating Climate Change and the Science and Life newspaper, said Editor-in-Chief Nguyen Minh Quang.
A range of activities will be organised to raise public awareness of the adverse impact of plastic bags on human health and the environment, encourage a plastic-bag-free lifestyle, and urge agencies, families and individuals not to use the bags.
In Hanoi alone, as many as 10,000 households will be presented with paper shopping bags to use instead of plastic ones during the course of the day.
From Sept. 1-9, around 10,000 agencies, families and tourists in Hoi An are expected to voluntarily sign commitments not to use plastic bags.
Organisers will also encourage people to collect waste plastic bags and then exchange 100 of them for one environmentally-friendly shopping bag.
Local shops and stores, which have registered to join the project, will be provided with bags made of sedge (a locally-grown, rush-like marsh grass) to offer customers, thereby helping to restore the locality’s traditional sedge handicraft village.