Hanoi to ban single-use plastics at downtown restaurants, cafes starting October

The plan, ordered by Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, will force businesses in the city center, including the Sword Lake and West Lake areas, to stop using disposable plastics like straws, cups and food containers. The ban will launch in late 2025, with wider enforcement expected in the years ahead.

Drinks are served in plastic cups with plastic straws at a shop in Hanoi, April 29, 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Bao

Hanoi produces more than 1,400 tons of plastic waste daily. City leaders say reducing plastic pollution is now a top priority.

Just days earlier, Hanoi's People's Council passed new rules aiming to reduce plastic across production, businesses and households.

The city plans to expand restrictions in stages.

Starting January 2026, hotels and tourist areas will ban single-use plastic items such as toothbrushes, razors, cotton swabs, shower caps and small sachets of toothpaste and shampoo. From January 2027, markets and convenience stores must stop giving out free plastic bags. By January 2028, government offices will ban single-use plastics and non-biodegradable packaging, including plastic bags and foam food boxes. From January 2031, Hanoi will enforce a citywide ban on the import, export and sale of single-use plastics, non-biodegradable packaging and products containing microplastics.

Under Vietnam's environmental regulations, single-use plastics include trays, cups, straws, bowls and food containers designed for one-time use. Non-biodegradable plastics, such as PE, PP, PS, PVC and PET, take years to break down and often pollute waterways and landfills.

Most plastics are marked with resin codes from 1 to 7. PET, HDPE and PP plastics are easier to recycle, while PS and mixed plastics are difficult to process and often end up as waste.

Other tourist destinations in Vietnam have already restricted plastic use. Cham Islands in Da Nang and Co To Island in Quang Ninh banned plastic bags years ago. Ha Long Bay banned single-use plastics like straws and cups in 2018. In May, a tourist boat in Quang Ninh was suspended after allowing guests to use single-use plastics.

Ho Chi Minh City is also working to reduce plastic use in Thanh An island commune and Can Gio tourist areas by 2030.

At the national level, Vietnam aims to ban single-use plastics and non-biodegradable packaging from supermarkets, shopping malls, hotels and tourist areas after 2025. Starting in 2026, the country will limit the production and import of small plastic bags. After 2030, Vietnam plans to fully stop producing and importing single-use plastics and foam food containers.