Top importer Vietnam struggles to recycle plastic waste

Estimates suggest Vietnam recycles only up to one-third of the imported plastic waste, said a research paper published in January.That is partly because some imported plastic is often mixed with organic waste that makes it hard or impossible to treat, said one of the paper’s authors, Kaustubh Thapa, from the Netherlands’ Utrecht University.A recycler at Minh Khai village was more upbeat.“The amount of imported waste that can’t be recycled is often about 5% of the volume, but at times it goes up to 25%,” said Chi, who declined to give his full name.Most people contacted in the…