In July, Nghe An is as hot as fire, although it is summer vacation, the members of the Thanh Chuong Plastic Waste Free Sunday Club are still active in their waste collection activities. At 4:30 am, the group members were all present at the meeting point, quickly ate a sandwich, drank a bottle of mineral water they brought with them, quickly put on a jacket, mask, gloves and carried a plastic bag, sickle, and iron hook to clean up the trash.
The location where the group worked this time was the Lam River alluvial plain flowing through Dong Van commune. On the sandbank about 2km long, garbage was piled up in mounds and piles. Garbage drifted into bushes and bamboo roots to block the waves; garbage was buried under the sand; garbage was piled up right at the foot of the dike… All kinds of garbage: household garbage, construction waste, animal carcasses… Old garbage, new garbage, garbage that had been stored for years.
The boys and girls, lost in the middle of a large mass of garbage, were diligently picking up each plastic bag, each plastic and glass bottle; the boys used all their strength to dig up the rotten table, altar, and even the chipped mirrors, syringes, and decomposing animal corpses... "According to the original plan, the activity was to end at 8am to avoid the sun, but the amount of garbage was so large that the sun was already high in the sky, and we still couldn't rest," said Nguyen Thi Cam Tu - Club Director.
In the hot sun, under the burning sand, but with youthful strength, enthusiasm, and a pioneering spirit, tons of garbage on the Lam River bank through Xuan Loc hamlet (Dong Van commune) were collected and transported to the collection point. Sweat stung the eyes, wet shirts, red hands, blistered feet... but the eyes and faces of the members were radiant with joy for having done practical work. Mixed with the cheers of each other to transport the garbage to the collection point were the clear singing voices of the boys and girls aged 16 and 18, making the atmosphere bustling, dispelling the fatigue.
“On sunny days, even though it is hot, even though I have to wake up early to avoid the sun, it is still less difficult than the cold season. The garbage collection trips in the last winter were very hard, the weather was humid, the garbage smelled strongly, the water soaked into the garbage, it was heavy and smelly, while the weather was cold, the wind blew into my face, numbing me. Even though it was hard, tiring, even though there were times when I was exhausted, when I looked back at the achievements I had contributed to, looking at the green - clean - beautiful roads, looking at the clear blue lake, looking at the clean golden sand beach... I felt very proud, very meaningful. The times I participated in activities with the club added beautiful memories to my youth,” said Nguyen Danh Tuan, a club member.
The "Sunday without plastic waste" club, led by Nguyen Thi Cam Tu (grade 11T student, Thanh Chuong 1 High School), consists of 12 members, mainly classmates. It was established in October 2022. The club's goal is to spend 2 Sundays a month collecting trash and cleaning up the environment in public places. "The idea of establishing the club sparked when I learned about Greta Thunberg, a Swede - a symbol of the fight against climate change for the young generation, along with the problem of trash in public places in the district. Initially, when I expressed my idea, only 7-8 classmates supported and volunteered to participate. At that time, I was neither sad nor discouraged, but instead determined to take action to spread the message," Cam Tu recalled.
At first, very few people were hesitant or skeptical about the group's activities. Because most of them thought that our Gen Z generation, 16-17 year old kids, "rich kids" only know how to eat and study, only know how to type, know Tiktok, Facebook, housework is a "luxury", let alone cleaning up trash and the environment. Therefore, there were bad words, gossips like "they are just for show", "showing off, but after three days they will all disband"... In response to those "talks", the group did not argue but only quietly responded with practical actions. And then, even though there were only 7-8 members, there were days when, due to health reasons or because of being busy with personal work, the group only had 4-5 members participating in activities, but regardless, the members were still persistent, still diligent, and patient with their goals. When there are few people, they will zone off and clean up an appropriate amount of trash. On days when there are many people, they will cover a larger area and clean up a larger amount of trash.
Regularly, every second Sunday of the month, the group members gather to collect trash. Places such as Dung Lake, the dike, and the streets in town are cleaned by the group.
In less than 9 months of establishment, the group has organized 13 garbage collection campaigns, cleaning 11 public places in the district. Images of the group's activities are posted on Facebook, Tiktok, Fanpage, and groups in Thanh Chuong. The goal is to spread the good deeds of the neighborhood to the community, thereby hoping to change awareness and behavior, so that people do not litter. Each post has hundreds, even thousands of viewers, most of whom support and praise the group.
With the motto "act together, spread together", the group's work has created a positive effect on social networks and youth forums in Thanh Chuong. Therefore, up to now, the group has had about 50 members of all ages and professions participating; especially, it has received recognition from the people. There are many people who, although not directly participating in cleaning up trash with the club members, silently send plastic bags to contain trash, supporting the group's budget to maintain its activities. Or there are days when witnessing the members working hard, some people buy sugarcane juice, some buy cakes and fruits to bring to the members to nourish them. Or there are people who follow the activities of the group members and regularly send words of encouragement and sharing.
Mrs. Tran Thi Nhat, Tien Quanh hamlet, Dong Van commune said: “The children’s actions are very practical and meaningful. Young people, busy with studying, still take advantage of their days off to clean up trash, clean the environment, clean up things that adults throw away carelessly. Seeing the children struggling to dig through each pile of trash, collecting trash makes me both admire and feel sorry. The children’s actions gradually change my awareness and those around me, not to litter, to know how to properly dispose of trash. The children work hard and put in effort to clean up, how could we adults litter?”. Especially, in the club’s subsequent trash collection sessions, if the location is nearby, the group has the participation of Mrs. Nhat…
Moved by the work of the volunteers of the “Sunday without plastic waste” Club, Mr. Tran Kien, a photographer in Dung town, has always accompanied and supported the members. “When I learned about the group’s activities, I was very impressed, touched and thought of doing something to support and encourage them. Some days, I went to the garbage collection point to encourage them spiritually, and some days I worked with them to feel the meaningfulness of the work. If there was no true love, no youthful enthusiasm, I think young people would not be so committed and devoted,” Mr. Tran Kien confided.
Preparing to enter the final year of high school, preparing for important exams, so according to the members of the group, they still arrange time to maintain activities; actively create awareness to attract new members to join, and at the same time look for new "leaders" for the club. "The good news is that currently, the number of club members is constantly increasing, not only in the class, in the school but also with the participation of students from other schools, union members, and youth from localities. In particular, each participant, in addition to the spirit of volunteerism and responsibility to the community, considers each of their actions and contributions as memorable memories of "the beautiful days of youth". Therefore, it is certain that, even when the first generation members like us will graduate and go to university, there will still be young people to follow and maintain the activities of the club", Cam Tu said.
In addition to garbage collection and environmental cleaning activities, the club also actively promotes climate change and environmental protection, inspiring people around them to live a green lifestyle. At the same time, they raise funds from recycled waste to organize charity activities. With youthful enthusiasm and responsibility to the community, the young people of "Sunday without plastic waste" in Thanh Chuong believe that small actions will help gradually change people's awareness and behavior in preserving and protecting the environment. They are the ones who have drawn the pages of their beautiful youth with practical and meaningful actions.
