New Mekong River Commission report calls for collective action on plastic pollution

Bottles, plastic bags and other solid waste have been identified in Mekong. - MRC

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): The Mekong River Commission (MRC) has sounded the alarm on the growing challenge of pollution due to macroplastics and microplastics and urged its four member countries to create a joint mechanism to monitor and clean up pollutants that affect the ecosystem and human health.

In its first report on “Riverine plastic pollution” in the Lower Mekong River Basin (LMB) that was unveiled recently, the MRC recommended that Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand pass and enforce new rules and regulations on waste littering, the so-called “3Rs” of reduce, reuse, recycle, and riverine plastic waste management.