Lê Nguyễn Phương Thùy, chairwoman of the Phước Tân Ward Women's Union, makes flower vases from plastic bottles collected from the "Small house - Million hearts" model. — VNA/VNS Photo Phan Sáu

KHÁNH HÒA — Environmental protection is considered a prerequisite for sustainable socio-economic development and people in Nha Trang City have proactively implemented many green models.

This has raised people’s awareness and responsibility, forming an environmentally friendly lifestyle, creating a green, clean and beautiful city.

Good models

"Small house - Million hearts" in Phước Tân Ward and "House for treating used battery" in Tân Lập Ward are two typical models of communities working together to protect the environment in Khánh Hòa Province.

The two models guide people to classify waste at source.

Chairwoman of the Phước Tân Ward Women's Union Lê Nguyễn Phương Thùy said that the model was implemented in June last year.

Its name was quite strange for locals so people were curious and paid attention.

The house, located at the ward People’s Committee, contained recyclable plastic waste collected in the ward.

Every Friday afternoon, members of the ward Women's Union collect beer cans, plastic bottles and paper from homes and bring them to the house.

The waste is sorted with some will be recycled into useful objects, and the remaining will be sold to help the needy living in the ward.

So far the ward has got more than VNĐ5.2 million (US$214) from selling the waste.

Additionally, the Phước Tân Ward Women's Union planned to guide children to make lanterns from recycled materials for the coming Mid-Autumn Festival.

Through this, each student will be an inspirer for environmental protection by the simplest form – classifying waste at its source.

Besides plastic waste, toxic waste like used electronic batteries are a top concern as they are often discarded which is harmful to the environment.

To combat this, the "House for treating used batteries" was founded in Tâp Lập Ward in May this year.

Nguyễn Thị Minh Anh, chairwoman of the Tân Lập Ward Fatherland Front Committee, said that the model aimed to educate people about the harmful effects of batteries when simply thrown away.

The "House for treating used batteries" is located at public places in the ward including the Trần Quốc Toản Junior Secondary School, the Bắc Thành Church, the Ngô Gia Tự Apartment Complex, and Alley 120 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật Street.

These are places with a large population, especially students.

Since its launch, Tân Lập Ward has collected more than 105kg of batteries of all types.

After being collected, the batteries are taken to the waste treatment plant in Quảng Nam Province following regulations on hazardous waste treatment.

“The biggest goal of this model is to call on people to change their awareness and classify waste at its source, said Anh.

"Each person, with a small effort, will contribute to making the city greener, cleaner and more beautiful."

Along with the wards' model of environmental protection, youth union members and young people often collect plastic waste in coastal areas in Nha Trang City.

Typically, in many campaigns, the Green Khánh Hòa group took different trips to the coastal areas to pick up waste, strongly communicating about marine environmental protection.

Nguyễn Thị Vân Anh, head of the Green Khánh Hòa group, said that the group operated in a spirit of volunteerism, acting for a cleaner environment.

The Green Khánh Hòa group members collect waste from coastal areas in Khánh Hòa Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Phan Sáu

Before carrying out activities, the group surveys locations in need of clearing and reports to the local authorities.

Recently, it collected waste in the waters of the An Viên Urban Area in Vĩnh Trường and Vĩnh Nguyên wards.

“Nha Trang is a tourism city. Therefore, a clean and beautiful landscape will create good impression for tourists, especially foreigners,” said Anh.

Take action together

Lê Đại Dương, deputy chairman of the Nha Trang City People's Committee, said that the city did not have a waste treatment plant with modern technology.

All waste in the city is collected and buried at the Lương Hòa sanitary landfill in Vĩnh Lương Commune.

Waste classification at its source contributes to raising community awareness about environmental protection and rational use of natural resources.

It helps minimise the amount of waste released into the environment, reduce collection, transport and treatment costs.

“Separating used batteries from other types of waste for treatment based on regulations is meaningful in protecting public health, ecosystems, and biodiversity,” said Dương.

Practical action in wards has proven that the models are good, effective, creative, and highly feasible.

“The models do not stop at spreading slogans, but guide people to directly classify waste and work together to protect the environment,” he said.

Dương assessed that the two wards’ models were located in easy-to-see places, attracting people's notice, creating a strong and pervasive effect.

The models can be replicated in other wards in the city to convey the message of building a sustainable lifestyle in harmony with beautiful natural landscape.

“Protecting the environment from small actions contributed to climate change adaptation, controlled and resolved plastic waste pollution towards a greener and cleaner lifestyle,” said Dương.

It will increase recycling and reusing, promote the building of a green economy, circular economy and sustainable development.

Nha Trang City has been implementing the municipal Party Committee’s Resolution 18 issued on April 28 last year on strengthening the Party's leadership in land and mineral management, construction order and urban aesthetic order.

After more than a year of implementation, with enthusiastic participation of the entire political system and support of the people, the Resolution has brought positive changes to the city with clear sidewalks, beautiful scenery, clean and beautiful urban area, said Dương.

Towards the goal of Nha Trang City will become more and more beautiful, modern, people's lives are stable and constantly improved, under the leadership of the Nha Trang City Party Committee, close supervision of the municipal People's Council, direction of the municipal People's Committee, the environment in the city has achieved remarkable results.

The city is increasingly green, clean and beautiful. It has become an attractive, environmentally friendly tourist destination for domestic and international tourists. — VNS