Vietnam Supermarkets Jumps On Bandwagon Of Wrapping Produce in Banana Leaves

Back in March, a Thailand supermarket came up with a brilliant idea to reduce plastic waste, because why not?

Instead of using plastic packaging for fresh produce, they used banana leaves to wrap around it.

And it seems that other supermarkets in Vietnam have picked up on this new environmentally-friendly way to package their fresh produce.

Lotte Mart Vietnam

It was reported by Tuoi Tre News that Lotte Mart in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7 began to wrap vegetables in banana leaves. Shoppers were surprised to see green onions, okra (or ladies’ fingers), and other vegetables in the new “packaging”.

According to VnExpress, a representative of the Lotte Mart said that the company is experimenting with using leaves to wrap veggies in one outlet, and plans to expand this later to the entire chain in the country.

The representative also added that this new packaging would apply to fresh produce like meat and not just vegetables.

Using vega to wrap vega – greenness overload, indeed.

Other Supermarkets Following The Trend

Other supermarkets soon began to follow. Saigon Co.op and the Big C in Hanoi are among the chains that have adopted the new packaging style.

Saigon Co.op originally had biodegradable packaging for its products. But in some of its outlets in HCMC and other southern localities of Phan Thiet, Tay Ninh, Quy Nhon and Tam Ky, they have started to use banana leaves instead.

While the Big C in Hanoi had started using banana leaves since early April, and the trial is set for a month.

Environment-friendly Efforts

Aside from the new banana leaf packaging, Lotte Mart also started to sell paper straws and food boxes that were made out of sugarcane waste. Not only that, but eggs were wrapped in paper packages instead of its usual plastic cartons, though we’re not certain how’s that going to protect the shape of the fragile eggs.

Also, Big C offered customers shopping bags that were made out of corn powder, which is completely biodegradable.

These new changes came after reports highlighted the large amount of plastic waste that Vietnam generated daily. According to official figures, the country disposes of about 2,500 tons of plastic waste a day.

A day.

In fact, Vietnam ranks fourth globally in the amount of plastic waste dumped into the ocean, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In first place is China, followed by Indonesia and then the Philippines.

Thankfully, Singapore isn’t in the top 20 of the list, though you’ve got to admit that our size and population plays a little part. But there is still so much we can do to reduce plastic waste.

Reducing Plastic

According to the UN Environment, researchers estimate that more than 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced since the early 1950s.

Doing the math, that’s about 0.12 billion tonnes of plastic a year. Unfortunately, 60% of that plastic has ended up in a landfill or natural environment.

More than 99% of plastics are produced from chemicals derived from oil, natural gas and coal. These are dirty and non-renewable resources. Non-renewable meaning it can’t be reused.

Common items like plastic bottles, straws, bottle caps, plastic bags, are also thrown away without thinking of the consequences. Only 9% of plastic ever produced has been recycled. 12% was incinerated, and the other 79% have accumulated in landfills, natural environment or dumps.

And plastic waste affects the environment. Severely. Ever seen those pictures of marine life choking and consuming the plastic that is thrown into the oceans?

Not cute. Not cool.

There are many ways to reduce plastic waste, from the smallest ways such as using your own metal straw or bringing your own bag to the supermarket.

Small efforts go a long way. The Earth is dying, and if we don’t do anything about it, we’re never going to get it back.

And the consequences will be much worse than Thanos’ snap in Infinity War.

After all, remember: yesterday was Earth Day. We might not have an Earth Day anymore if we continue to use single-use plastic, no?