To help address the global plastics pollution problem, the Plastics Innovation Hub Vietnam (Hub Vietnam) has launched, and aims to significantly reduce plastic waste in the country through collaboration and using science and innovation to develop solutions.
Based in Hanoi, Hub Vietnam is an initiative of Aus4Innovation, a development assistance program sponsored by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), managed and co-funded by the CSIRO, and delivered in partnership with Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
Amelia Fyfield, CSIRO Southeast Asia counsellor, said that collaboration was the key to solving the global plastic pollution challenge.
“The CSIRO is excited to collaborate through Hub Vietnam, and use our globally renowned science and expertise to work on addressing this problem internationally,” she said.
“Hub Vietnam differentiates itself by focusing on early-stage initiatives, setting foundations, and aiming to connect participants with key networks.”
Hub Vietnam will be a vehicle for collaboration, bringing together local communities and governments, researchers, business and investors to undertake action-based projects to reduce the impacts of plastic waste.
It expands the network in the region, following the launch of a Plastic Innovation Hub in Indonesia in March 2022.
Research into plastic in Vietnam has already been undertaken as part of the CSIRO’s largest global plastic pollution survey, with the goal of identifying how much, and what types of rubbish end up in the environment.
Additional work between Australia and Vietnam is also planned for the coming months, as Vietnam looks to develop a national data repository, and expand their on-the-ground surveys.
According to Kim Wimbush, program director for Aus4Innovation, solutions based on science, technology and innovation would support the Vietnamese government’s goals to tackle plastic waste and build a circular economy.
“Reducing plastic waste brings economic and environmental advantages,” Wimbush said.
“Expanding our collaborations across the region will identify new approaches in reducing plastic waste, and support Vietnam’s pledge to reduce the flow of plastics into the ocean by 75 per cent by 2030.”
Hub Vietnam is part of the CSIRO’s Ending Plastic Waste Mission, which aims to change the way we make, use, recycle and dispose of plastics.
