For a long time, I’ve been curious about disposable plastic bags. They aren’t that strange in other parts of the world, but in Viet Nam, fewer people have had a chance to use them, despite mentions in the mass media.

Using Google to search for "disposable plastic bags in Viet Nam", I came up with a load of results. Some of them linked me to a man who is famous for bringing disposal plastic bags to the country. His name is Le Loc, and he is the director of Phuc Le Gia Trade and Service Co Ltd.

The journey

Le Loc was born in 1948. He used to be a chemistry student at a university in HCM City. In the past, he worked for an American environmental company in Viet Nam; however, the company did not survive here and had to move out of the country. At that time, things were difficult for Loc. But the event eventually brought him to a new road, a road full of dangers.

"While working for the company, I learned a lot about the environment and waste water treatment. I studied waste water treatments and recognised that plastic bags were a big danger to the environment," Loc said.

When the company closed down, he had to stop his research, but even this could not quench his thirst for finding a way to make disposable plastic bags. "I often thought that something needed to be done, whenever I walked by polluted canals or fields covered in plastic bags. If we can’t figure out a way to dispose of these things, there will be huge mounds of plastic bags all over the nation’s cities," he said.

With this thought, he started to try to find ways to dispose of plastic bags. And the desire to fix this problem has followed him since 2000.

"I found that the demand for plastic bags kept increasing year after year. I believe this will be my chance to save the environment. And a good business opportunity to boot," Loc said. At first, Loc told himself that if he failed, nothing would happen; "however, if I am successful, it will be a great thing for the nation, as no one has been able to find a way to produce disposable plastic bags". "I travelled to many regions to study plastic bags and find a common formula," he said.

From 2000 to 2006, Loc tried to produce many kinds of disposable bags, but none were successful.

"I bought materials from foreign countries to produce the bags, but none of them were suitable for Viet Nam," Loc said. "It cost me about VND1.5 billion (US$85,700) to invent the bag. However, the difficult part was that no one helped me. I couldn’t get a loan from the bank, because they didn’t believe in me, so I had to mortgage my house," Loc said. And it wasn’t just the bank. Even Loc’s family didn’t believe in him.

"Some people supported me, but they never believed my dream would come true. A few companies withdrew from their promises with me, and others called me crazy, or a cheat," he said. But Loc believed in himself. Even though the invention of the bag seemed to be killing his spirit, leaving him unable to even swallow a bowl of rice. 
 
Dream come true 

Loc and his partner at a factory that produces biodegradable packaging products.

It was a technology from the United States that eventually gave Loc the success he deserved.

With this technology, the plastic bags will break down and degrade when subjected to photosynthesis by sunlight and micro-organisms. It’s a safe and green way to completely replace plastic bags.

Loc’s oxo - biodegradable packaging product will last for 49-105 days if exposed to direct sunlight or organic chemicals, but they can be stored in cool, dark areas or in light-insulated tanks to extend their life expectancies.

After they degrade, they will turn to water and carbon, with the largest leftover piece being no larger than 2mm.

The quality of Loc’s product has been approved by the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality No 3 (Quatest 3) in HCM City. It has also been approved and awarded an environmental prize by the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment.

Actually, I could have created something a long time ago, but I wanted it to be perfect, I wanted every piece to be biodegradable, Loc said. He said that lab results were different from the facts of life. Even if something was successful in the lab, it might not be so in the real world.

"We already tested Loc’s product. It’s up to standard. However, our centre and other centres in the country can only carry out one kind of test. To ensure the quality of the product, it must be sent to other centres in foreign countries," said Phung from Quatest 3. The quality of these biodegradable bags is the same as plastic bags or even better. Loc also said that the bags’ prices would not be more than five per cent higher than other plastic bags, so that people would be encouraged to use them.