Vietnam is the third-highest plastic consumer in Southeast Asia. Since 1990, there has been a spectacular increase in plastic use in Vietnam, rising from 3.8 kg/ capita in 1990 (MONRE 2020) to 81 kg/capita in 2019 (IUCN-EA-QUANTIS 2020). Vietnam is also identified as the fourth largest plastic emitter in the world with an estimated 0.28–0.73 million tons of plastic per year being released into the marine environment (Jambeck et.al., 2015). A survey conducted by IUCN and Greenhub (IUCN and GreenHub, 2019) showed that plastic items account for 92% of the total waste collected on Vietnam’s beaches. The main plastic waste compositions comprised mainly single-used plastic from people’s daily activities. However, only about 15 percent of the country’s plastic waste is recycled, and more than half—the equivalent of 3.6 MT/year is mismanaged (IUCN-EA-QUANTIS 2020). The remainder of Vietnam’s plastic waste, if not disposed of in landfills, is buried in dumps, openly burned, or dumped in waterways. As a result of the latter, Vietnam is estimated to be one of the top five polluters of the world’s oceans (Jambeck et al. 2015).
One of the solutions regularly discussed in combatting plastic pollution is raising awareness of the community, especially the youth generation, to change their behaviour and practices toward a pro-environmental and sustainable lifestyle. In the period of 2022-2004, the capacity building project supported by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (CBA2022-06SY-TRAN) has been implemented focusing on capacity development by improving Vietnam youth’s knowledge and action about sustainable consumption and combatting the plastic pollution issue. The project involved designing a core module and course materials about zero-waste approach in schools; pilot teaching the designed module at schools and organizing extra curriculum activities for the students to promote a green school model. The project was co-run by three partners including University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, a Vietnam University, a Vietnam local NGO (Centre for Supporting Green Development – GreenHub), and a Singapore local NGO (Our Singapore Reef).
