Having seeing signs posted around town about a citywide recycling day, Nguyen Ngoc Thuy and her family stopped by Le Van Tam Park in HCM City on April 18 to drop off some old clothes.
The Old Clothes Exchange booth set up in the downtown park was one of the most popular stalls at the third annual Waste Recycling Day held by the city's Department of Natural Resources and Environment in cooperation with other city agencies.
"My family has had a lot of fun," Thuy said, adding that her son realised there was nothing wrong with wearing someone else's old clothes.
"Other people's old clothes will be my new ones," she said.
The event, whose main activities were held in Le Van Tam Park, was advertised throughout the city, and each district set up collection sites for the public to drop off waste.
According to the city's Waste Recycling Fund, nearly 8,000 people attended the event at the park, 1,000 more than last year.
The city began the event as an effort to educate the public about the three R's: reduce, reuse and recycle.
About 1,000 kilos of hazardous waste, such as empty batteries, light bulbs and bottles of chemicals, were exchanged for notebooks, cakes and other items at the Dump.
This was double the amount collected last year, according to Dao Anh Kiet, head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
People working at the stall, which was also one of the most popular at the event, handed out documents to the public explaining the three R's.
One woman visiting the stall said she had exchanged materials for notebooks to give to her grandchildren.
Clothes made from waste materials, a speaking contest, and an exhibition of toys and other items made from milk boxes, beer cans or waste paper were part of the event's activities.
Pham Thi Be Hai's daughter, Tran Thanh Tan Thao, a seventh-grade student, used toothpicks to build a toy house and entered the contest at her school, winning the first prize.
"This is one of the ways to protect the environment," she said, adding that lessons about recycling had been offered at her school.
At the launch ceremony of the Waste Recycling Day earlier in the day, Bui Cach Tuyen, head of the Environmental Protection General Department, commended the city for holding such events to help improve people's environmental awareness.
"It's very important to recycle and reuse waste" to reduce the amount of rubbish buried underground, he said.
Kiet said nearly 7,000 tonnes of solid waste in the city were discharged each day. Ten percent of the waste is burned and 90 percent is buried in landfills.
To combat the rising waste, Tuyen said the country needed a new legal framework for environmental protection, as well as more advanced technologies and community awareness activities.
Other provinces and cities should be encouraged to hold activities like the Waste Recycling Day, he added./.
The Old Clothes Exchange booth set up in the downtown park was one of the most popular stalls at the third annual Waste Recycling Day held by the city's Department of Natural Resources and Environment in cooperation with other city agencies.
"My family has had a lot of fun," Thuy said, adding that her son realised there was nothing wrong with wearing someone else's old clothes.
"Other people's old clothes will be my new ones," she said.
The event, whose main activities were held in Le Van Tam Park, was advertised throughout the city, and each district set up collection sites for the public to drop off waste.
According to the city's Waste Recycling Fund, nearly 8,000 people attended the event at the park, 1,000 more than last year.
The city began the event as an effort to educate the public about the three R's: reduce, reuse and recycle.
About 1,000 kilos of hazardous waste, such as empty batteries, light bulbs and bottles of chemicals, were exchanged for notebooks, cakes and other items at the Dump.
This was double the amount collected last year, according to Dao Anh Kiet, head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
People working at the stall, which was also one of the most popular at the event, handed out documents to the public explaining the three R's.
One woman visiting the stall said she had exchanged materials for notebooks to give to her grandchildren.
Clothes made from waste materials, a speaking contest, and an exhibition of toys and other items made from milk boxes, beer cans or waste paper were part of the event's activities.
Pham Thi Be Hai's daughter, Tran Thanh Tan Thao, a seventh-grade student, used toothpicks to build a toy house and entered the contest at her school, winning the first prize.
"This is one of the ways to protect the environment," she said, adding that lessons about recycling had been offered at her school.
At the launch ceremony of the Waste Recycling Day earlier in the day, Bui Cach Tuyen, head of the Environmental Protection General Department, commended the city for holding such events to help improve people's environmental awareness.
"It's very important to recycle and reuse waste" to reduce the amount of rubbish buried underground, he said.
Kiet said nearly 7,000 tonnes of solid waste in the city were discharged each day. Ten percent of the waste is burned and 90 percent is buried in landfills.
To combat the rising waste, Tuyen said the country needed a new legal framework for environmental protection, as well as more advanced technologies and community awareness activities.
Other provinces and cities should be encouraged to hold activities like the Waste Recycling Day, he added./.
