Saigon Co.op, Vietnam’s leading supermarket chain operator, said that its Co.opMart supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City will give free-of-charge degradable bags to customers from Mar 26, instead of plastic ones in a move to protect the environment. The check-out bags can self-decompose and the decomposition time ranging from 9 to 27 months depends on volume of the substance and temperature conditions while plastic bags may take up to 300 years to break down. Unlike most plastic packaging, the checkout bag can also be reused at home as a waste receptacle or a convenient way of collating and collecting rubbish, not a single use. Switching to the eco-friendly packaging, Saigon Co.op is expected to help mitigate the impacts of plastic bags on the environment and encourage customers to use the eco-friendly bags. This change will not affect to the chain’s goods prices, Saigon Co.op. said, adding that 21 Co.opMart supermarkets in HCM City will firstly undergo the change before expanding to other parts of the country. Saigon Co.op will also pledge to turn off their neon signs at 50 of its Co.opMart stores nationwide from 20:30pm to 21:30pm on March 26 in response to Earth Hour campaign. In fact, most Vietnamese people know plastic bags are harmful to the environment but they find the bags convenient and are unaware of any suitable substitute. (Saigon Times Daily Mar 23 p3)
