Hanoi has paid more attention to collecting and treating packaging of plant protection products and veterinary medicines after use, reported Economy and Urban Affairs newspaper.

A container collecting empty packaging of plant protection products placed in a vegetable field in Long Bien District. – photo kinhtedothi.vn

The move aims to reduce risks of pollution for water resources and soil and drive green, clean and sustainable agriculture.

According to Hanoi Argiculture and Rural Development, the city has three workshops manufacturing, bottling and packaging plant protection products, and 76 companies and more than 1,200 stores selling the products.

The city uses about 400 tonnes of plant protection products in agricultural production yearly, said the department.

According to experts, the empty packaging of plant protection products after use contains chemicals. If the empty bags or bottles are left in fields after use, the chemical residue dissolves in water surface and infiltrates underground water.

If the empty packages are dumped, they cause environmental pollution because the chemical residue infiltrates into soil and underground water. The pollution is more serious if the empty packaging is dumped in upstream areas.

And burning the packaging emits dioxin.

Therefore, to ensure community health and a clean environment, the most effective solution is collecting, classifying and treating the empty packaging of used plant protection products.

Currently, areas for collecting packaging of used plant protection products have been set up in several agricultural production areas in the city. And the farmers have paid more attention to environmental protection.

However, packaging of used plant protection products has been left in fields and vegetable gardens in regions growing vegetables and ornamental plants like Boc To Liem, Dong Anh and Me Linh districts.

Collecting and treating the packaging of used plant protection products and veterinary medicines has been carried out by the Hanoi Argiculture and Rural Development and local governments for years.

Last year, the authorised agencies collected and destroyed more than 140 tonnes of packaging of used plant protection products and veterinary medicines.

Aiming to control packaging of used plant protection products and veterinary medicinces and prevent environmental pollution, the municipal committee has asked agencies and local governments to list 25 areas of chemical residues in the city.

Projects to restore the environment in areas with chemical residue have been carried out in some districts.

Le Xuan Truong, deputy head of Plant Protection Department said: “the city should have policies to support local governments in collecting and treating the packaging to install more containers as well as plan collection areas”.

“Information dissemination among farmers about using plant protection products as well as protect agricultural production from chemical pollution is needed,” Truong told the paper. – VNS