Saigon Co.op uses “green” shopping bags
Tuoi Tre
Updated : Mon, May 2, 2011,1:31 PM (GMT+0700)
Updated : Mon, May 2, 2011,1:31 PM (GMT+0700)
In an effort to protect the environment, all 21 Saigon Co.op supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City have replaced common plastic shopping-bags with self-biodegradable ones.
Over one year ago, the Saigon Co.op, Vietnam’s largest supermarket chain, looked for a replacement for shopping bags made of plastic.
It was then recommended some kinds of biodegradable bags but in fact, those products were just disintegrated into segments and were not biodegradable into water and carbonic dioxide, Do Thi Thuy Hang, deputy director of quality control of the Saigon Co.op., said.
Meanwhile, imported self-biodegradable bags are of good quality but they are very expensive, Hang said.
Two months ago, HCM City-based Vafaco Packing Joint Stock Company successfully produced bio-degradable bags from HDPE and reverte, an additive imported from the UK. Saigon Co.op later selected Vafaco as its suppliers of the new kind of shopping bags, she said.
The self-destruction mechanism consists of 2 stages. In the first stage, under the direct effect of the sunlight, or a source of heat of over 50 degrees Celsius, for 48 hours, the molecular structure of the bag will begin its disintegration process, said Nguyen Phuoc Dong, chairman of Vafaco.
Three to nine months later, the structure will become a kind of fine powder and the powder will be eaten up by micro-organism, bacteria and fungus that are available in the natural environment.
If left in normal temperature conditions, not being exposed to sunlight, the bag will begin to disintegrate in 2 years.
The cost of eco-friendly bags is about 10 percent higher than that of a plastic bag, but it will not cause a rise in goods prices, since the Cooperative and Vafaco will share the increased cost.
Safe for use
Vafaco now can turn out about 130 tons of bags and is planning to raise the capacity by calling for investment from investors.
Currently, the use of green bags are being piloted in HCM City and will be used at all Co.op supermarkets nationwide when Vafaco can increase its production capacity, the Cooperative said.
Able to survive hundreds of years in natural environment, plastic bags can block the circulation of water flows, prevent the endosmosis of water in nature, and hinder the development of vegetation.
Along with many other countries, Vietnam has campaigned its people to say “No” to plastic bags and use self-biodegradable bags or bags made from environmentally-friendly materials.
At a consulting conference held in HCM City on March 30, many scientists from local universities and agencies confirmed that the content of additive used in manufacturing such bags is just 1 percent, so their ability to cause harm to human health is low.
Consumers can set their mind at rest to use self-biodegradable bags, the scientists said.
Over one year ago, the Saigon Co.op, Vietnam’s largest supermarket chain, looked for a replacement for shopping bags made of plastic.
It was then recommended some kinds of biodegradable bags but in fact, those products were just disintegrated into segments and were not biodegradable into water and carbonic dioxide, Do Thi Thuy Hang, deputy director of quality control of the Saigon Co.op., said.
Meanwhile, imported self-biodegradable bags are of good quality but they are very expensive, Hang said.
Two months ago, HCM City-based Vafaco Packing Joint Stock Company successfully produced bio-degradable bags from HDPE and reverte, an additive imported from the UK. Saigon Co.op later selected Vafaco as its suppliers of the new kind of shopping bags, she said.
The self-destruction mechanism consists of 2 stages. In the first stage, under the direct effect of the sunlight, or a source of heat of over 50 degrees Celsius, for 48 hours, the molecular structure of the bag will begin its disintegration process, said Nguyen Phuoc Dong, chairman of Vafaco.
Three to nine months later, the structure will become a kind of fine powder and the powder will be eaten up by micro-organism, bacteria and fungus that are available in the natural environment.
If left in normal temperature conditions, not being exposed to sunlight, the bag will begin to disintegrate in 2 years.
The cost of eco-friendly bags is about 10 percent higher than that of a plastic bag, but it will not cause a rise in goods prices, since the Cooperative and Vafaco will share the increased cost.
Safe for use
Vafaco now can turn out about 130 tons of bags and is planning to raise the capacity by calling for investment from investors.
Currently, the use of green bags are being piloted in HCM City and will be used at all Co.op supermarkets nationwide when Vafaco can increase its production capacity, the Cooperative said.
Able to survive hundreds of years in natural environment, plastic bags can block the circulation of water flows, prevent the endosmosis of water in nature, and hinder the development of vegetation.
Along with many other countries, Vietnam has campaigned its people to say “No” to plastic bags and use self-biodegradable bags or bags made from environmentally-friendly materials.
At a consulting conference held in HCM City on March 30, many scientists from local universities and agencies confirmed that the content of additive used in manufacturing such bags is just 1 percent, so their ability to cause harm to human health is low.
Consumers can set their mind at rest to use self-biodegradable bags, the scientists said.
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