Nghe An Xanh - Group of young Gen Z people volunteer to clean up trash and the environment

Passion for garbage collection

During the holidays, when everyone is taking the opportunity to have fun and relax after a stressful week of work, members of the Nghe An Xanh group choose a special job for themselves, which is wading through mud to collect garbage in the river.Hung Hoa Lake, Vinh City.

Hung Hoa reservoir is polluted with many types of waste that have not been collected for a long time. Photo: QA

Hung Hoa Reservoir is the largest reservoir in Vinh city with a water surface area of ​​40 hectares, located at the end of Bac canal, in the low-lying area bordering Hung Loc commune, Hung Hoa commune and Hung Dung ward. In 2017, this reservoir was officially put into use, considered the "green lung" of Vinh city.

However, in recent times, the lake has been polluted, especially on weekends when people gather to eat and litter around the lake and under the lake. This has caused members of the Nghe An Xanh group to be extremely concerned and to come up with a plan to clean up the largest lake in Vinh City.

Before cleaning up trash in polluted areas, young people from Nghe An Xanh group must wear protective gear. Photo: QA

What impressed us the first time we met the group were the very young members, also known as "gen Z", with bright, gentle smiles clearly visible on each member's delicate face. After the greetings, Le Nam Quan - Founder of Nghe An Xanh group shared: "This reservoir is so big, my family has to hurry up and do it or else it will be too late...".

Having said that, each member took turns equipping each other with protective gear, masks, gloves... and wading into the muddy layer of the lake to collect trash.

Group members collect trash together at the bottom of the lake. Photo: QA

According to observations, the bottom of the lake was covered with a layer of black water with countless types of waste, including plastic bags, plastic bottles, styrofoam boxes... covered with green moss due to being soaked for a long time. The members of the group were clearly assigned tasks, some raked the trash, some put the trash in bags, and some stayed on the shore to bring the trash to the collection site. There were sections of water nearly 1 meter deep, making the collection even more difficult, the steps even heavier.

Witnessing the work of the children, we can see the difficulties that not everyone is willing to do. Even though they are equipped with protective gear, their bodies are still exposed to the polluted environment and strong stench. Not to mention that, in the process of collecting garbage, they constantly encounter dangerous objects such as needles, broken glass pieces, etc. However, the children still work silently, without a word of complaint. Each layer of garbage at the bottom of the lake is gradually lifted up, returning the water to its original clear blue surface.

Soaking in the black water, polluted with many types of waste, however, young people do not hesitate to do meaningful work. Photo: QA

After many hours of wading through the mud, dozens of bags of garbage in the lake were collected. The environmental company's garbage truck arrived, and the members together loaded the garbage onto the truck and took it to the designated collection point. When the work was completed, it was already dark, and the members waded up to the lake shore amid the admiring applause of the people walking around the lake.

It is known that this is not the first time the Nghe An Xanh group has collected garbage to protect the environment. In February, the group went to Cua Lo beach twice to collect garbage along the white sand. Most recently, the area around Vinh Tan lake and Hung Hoa dike, Vinh city was also surrounded by a huge amount of garbage. Thanks to the cooperation of the Nghe An Xanh group, the garbage that was thrown here was collected, returning a clean environment to the community.

After being collected, the waste was transported to the designated collection point. Photo: QA

Spread love for the environment

Dang Thong Hung - co-founder of the group shared: In February 2023, we established the Nghe An Green volunteer group with the aim of gathering young people who love nature, are aware of environmental protection, and join hands to collect waste at polluted spots in Nghe An province. After each campaign, we save clips to post on social networks such as Tiktok, Facebook... from there, hoping to spread more awareness of preserving a green, clean, and beautiful environment to everyone."

Nghe An Xanh Group currently has 4 members and volunteers, the number of people registering to join the group is increasing. Photo: QA

It is known that the Nghe An Xanh group currently consists of 4 members: Le Nam Quan (born 2002); Dang Thong Hung (born 2003), Nguyen Xuan Trung (born 2002); Tran Ngoc The (born 2003). They all come from the mountainous commune of Tam Quang, Tuong Duong district and are currently studying at Vinh University. In addition, there are 2 volunteers participating, Dao Sy Hoang (born 2003) and Nguyen Thi Long (born 2003), both students of Vinh Medical University.

Sharing about the group's operating principles, group leader Le Nam Quan said: In reality, our living environment is increasingly polluted. Meanwhile, a part of the population assumes that garbage collection is the responsibility of sanitation workers and janitors, so they often litter because they think "someone else will clean it up for them". We want to change that perception, because protecting the environment is not the responsibility of one person, everyone must be responsible. There have been people who say that we "eat at home and take responsibility for the whole village", however, the members ignore it and strive to act according to their ideals.

Although only in their twenties, the young people of Nghe An Xanh group are always aware of environmental protection, wishing to spread it to many people. Photo: QA

It is known that the clips about garbage collection at polluted locations in Nghe An after being posted on social network Tiktok have had hundreds of thousands of views, tens of thousands of people interacting and supporting. Many comments admired the spirit and dedication of Nghe An youth. The number of members registering to join the group is constantly increasing... There have even been many benefactors who have pledged to support and accompany the group to spread this project, joining hands to protect a Green Nghe An as the meaningful name of the group.

Ms. Dao Thu Hien, from Hanoi, is currently a daughter-in-law of Nghe An. After watching the trash cleaning clips of Nghe An Xanh group on Tiktok, she contacted and supported the group with protective clothing. Ms. Hien shared: “The children are young but have very correct awareness and actions, which need to be spread more strongly in the community. For such meaningful work, not only me but any child of Nghe An is ready to accompany.”

Young people hope to change the community's thinking and join hands to protect a green, clean, and beautiful Nghe An. Photo: QA

According to the group, although it has only been established for more than a month, the number of people wanting to join the group has reached dozens; the group is still considering admission because managing a large number of people is not easy.

“The nature of this job is exposure to pollution, danger, and frequent encountering of debris, bottles, syringes, etc., so without protective gear, it will be impossible to do it. There are young members who have applied to register, but they need their parents’ consent. In addition, the members who have applied are of many ages, each person has a job, so it will be very difficult to gather them all for a day to work. Therefore, for now, the group will not accept new members. The hope that everyone will protect the environment where they live is already a great joy…”, shared a representative of the Nghe An Xanh group.

Although the Nghe An Xanh group on Tiktok was just established with the aim of spreading love for the environment, it has already received hundreds of thousands of views and many compliments and supports from all over the country. Photo: QA

It is known that in the coming time, Nghe An Xanh group will continue to collect waste at polluted areas in the province. The group also hopes that the community will join hands to protect the green, clean and beautiful environment, raising awareness of preserving the landscape today so that tomorrow we and future generations will enjoy the results.

Quang An