The trend of online food purchasing, which has prevailed since the COVID-19 outbreak, and the prevalent use of plastic packaging in retail are increasing plastic waste volume, potentially causing long-term health risks. During the strict COVID-19 restrictions last year, 75 percent of people living in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City used online food delivery services, according to a survey of Q&Me, a market research firm. Such food is usually packed in boxes made of plastic that accounted for 64 percent of the total volume of materials used for the food packaging industry. Many vendors prefer using plastic bags to contain various items sold online and at bricks-and-mortar shops. ProCi Food, a Ho Chi Minh City-based non-profit social project, and some other eco-friendly businesses, like Phu Yen Province-based Tuy An Farm, have called on their customers to send back packaging to them so that they can return it to manufacturers for processing and reuse. Some online grocery … [Read more...] about Plastic packaging a cause for concern in online shopping era in Vietnam