Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi has paid moreattention to collecting and treating packaging of plant protection products andveterinary medicines after use in an effort to reduce risks of pollution forwater resources and soil and drive green, clean and sustainable agriculture.

According to the municipal Department of Agricultureand Rural Development, the city has three workshops manufacturing, bottling andpackaging plant protection products, and 76 companies and more than 1,200stores selling the products.

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

According to experts, the empty packaging of plantprotection products after use contains chemicals. If the empty bags or bottlesare left in fields after use, the chemical residue dissolves in water surfaceand infiltrates underground water.

If the empty packages are dumped, they causeenvironmental pollution because the chemical residue infiltrates into soil andunderground water. The pollution is more serious if the empty packaging isdumped in upstream areas. And burning the packaging emits dioxin.

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

Currently, areas for collecting packaging of usedplant protection products have been set up in several agricultural productionareas in the city. And the farmers have paid more attention to environmentalprotection.

However, packaging of used plant protectionproducts has been left in fields and vegetable gardens in regions growingvegetables and ornamental plants like Bac Tu Liem, Dong Anh and Me Linh districts.

Collecting and treating the packaging of usedplant protection products and veterinary medicines has been carried out by theDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development and local administrations foryears.

Last year, the authorised agencies collected and destroyedmore than 140 tonnes of packaging of used plant protection products andveterinary medicines.

Aiming to control packaging of used plantprotection products and veterinary medicines and prevent environmentalpollution, the municipal committee has asked agencies and local administrationto list 25 areas of chemical residues in the city. Projects to restorethe environment in areas with chemical residue have been carried out in somedistricts.

Le Xuan Truong, deputy head of Plant ProtectionDepartment said the city should have policies to support local governments incollecting and treating the packaging to install more containers as well asplan collection areas.

Information dissemination among farmers aboutusing plant protection products as well as protect agricultural production fromchemical pollution is needed, Truong added.-VNA