Collection of Drawings Essays from the students of the 6 participating schools

Collection of

Drawings & Essays From the students of the 6 participating schools Municipal Waste Recycling Program to Reduce Plastic Pollution of the Oceans – “No Plastics – City to River to Coast

CENTRE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Address: 2/33 Nguyen Truong To, Hue city, Vietnam | Email: info@csrd.vn | Phone: 0234.3837714 | Fax: 0234.3837714

COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS AND ESSAYS FROM THE STUDENTS OF THE SIX SCHOOLS PARTICIPATING in the project “Municipal Waste Recycling Program to Reduce Plastic Pollution of the Oceans – “No Plastics – City to River to Coast”, Responsible for publication Pham Thi Dieu My Tran Mai Huong Tran Thi Thanh Tam Vo Thi To Nhu Hoang The Vinh Designed by Hoang The Vinh

Copyright of the Centre for Social Research and Development (CSRD) The project “Municipal Waste Recycling Program to Reduce Plastic Pollution of the Oceans – “No Plastics – City to River to Coast”, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Printed and published by Thuan Hoa Publishing House Designed by Hoang The Vinh Project duration: 2018 – 2019

Preface Plastic waste pollution is now a major global problem, which urgently demands joint efforts and actions of communities at international, national and local levels. Hue city is also responsible for this global issue. Every day, the city produces nearly 20 tons of plastic waste and a part of it is discharged into the Huong River and carried to the sea. Joining the critical combat of protecting the environment, with a focus on reducing, classifying and recycling plastic waste in and around Hue City, in 2018, the Centre for Social Research and Development (CSRD) developed and launched the project “Municipal Waste Recycling Program to Reduce Plastic Pollution of the Oceans – “No Plastics – City to River to Coast”, sponsored by The United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project has deployed a series of practical activities at 06 schools, including 02 high schools: Quoc Hoc and Bui Thi Xuan and 04 secondary schools: Tran Cao Van, Phan Sao Nam, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, and Hoang Kim Hoan.

Presently, we are planning to replicate this successful project model to some other schools.

The Collection, which encompasses 130 outstanding drawings and 80 short essays from the 6 schools participating in the project, is the second publication produced within the framework of the project and edited and published by CSRD. It presents diverse and thoughtprovoking perspectives of the students on the current issues of waste and environmental pollutions, people’s awareness, human’s destructive activities to the environment, and the desire for a clean and healthy environment in the future with the joint hand and mind of the community.

The problem of environmental pollution and plastic pollution have never been more burning than ever before. Therefore, educating and raising awareness of the communities and students in particular and the public in general are critical demands and in need of long-term efforts and orientations. We hope that this book will be a helpful material for schools, students, and parents in terms of fostering their awareness and practice in reducing, classifying, and recycling plastic waste and protecting the environment.

We would like to express our great and sincere thanks to the United States Agency for International Development for their financial and technical supports to CSRD in implementing this project and many other ones of ours in the past as well as their funding of the making and issuing of this publication. Our heartfelt appreciation also goes to all the agencies, schools, and students for their professional consultation, energetic participation, and effective implementation of the project activities.

Director - Centre for Social Research and Development

…from the present

Drawing: Hoang Anh – Tran Cao Van Secondary School

I. Messages

They’re invading!

Plastic waste such as plastic bags and plastic bottles are produced by human for many purposes. But it is these plastic waste that in turn become a polluting threat to our Earth.

Truong Thi My Trinh – Class 7/2, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Drawing: Hai Yen, Bich Huyen, Huong Quynh, Bao Thinh, Nhat Minh – Class 10B6, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Plastic –

Drawing: Ho Thi Roi – Class 9/3, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondy School

Where is the

awareness?

It’s sad that many people have no sense of environmental protection at all. On television, I have seen many people littering without a thought, not caring about anyone or feeling sorry for the environment. If adults do bad things, children will follow.

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

Drawing: Nguyen Thi Phuong – Class 8/4, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondy School

A global concern

As we know, waste is now a major global issue. It brings about many consequences such as clogging water pipes, polluting environmental, threatening the lives of plants and animals, and harming people’s health. Therefore, we should take actions immediately to protect our own lives.

Duong Thi Huong Nguyen - Class 8/2, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Plastic waste, when buried, will change the properties of the soil, causing phenomena such as erosion and making the soil no longer able to retain water and nutrition or generating toxic substances etc., obstructing the growth of plants. When discharged into the water, they are considered as “the Death" to aquatic species, for example, they can make fishes and sea turtles choke to death.

Because of their hard-to-decompose properties, when released into the environment, especially the water environment, they would gradually become a large plastic block that lasts forever.

Le Nguyen Ba Phat - Class 7/3, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Drawing: Tran Thi Dieu Linh –Class 10 Physics 2, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Destroyer

Drawing: Class 10 History-Geography, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

The Doomsday It’s obvious that waste is a huge problem of the world today.

Every day, thousands of tons of waste are discharged into the environment. Plastic waste like plastic bags, especially, is even a bigger sting. Many people throw plastic bags down the street instead of putting them in the trash.

If this goes on like that, the environment will become increasingly polluted, waste will fill up all the ponds, lakes, rivers, and seas. Many creatures are dying because garbage has covered the water surface. Plastic bags in drains interfere with water flow, causing flooding.

It is predicted that by 2099, garbage will cover the whole world. Will people still exist until that day? The Earth has been formed for over thousands of millions of years. Will it be reasonable to end its life just because of human unconsciousness?

Le Thi Mi - Class 9/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Drawing: Class 12 Physics, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Life of a milk box The Milk box was born with a noble mission to help children grow taller and healthier. It thought that people would love it then, but out of a sudden, they just cherished it until they drank up the milk out of it. After that, they threw it anywhere they can. That made it feel so sad. It wants to go back to where it was born. One day, it met a cigarette and was asked: - Why are you here?

It replied, with a sad smile: - I was thrown away by the people that I served.

Shortly after the talk began, the fire from the cigarette started to spread to the milk box and burned the whole garden up. That was so frightening and disappointing at the same time.

If people are mindful, it should have been put in the trash bin, then taken back to the recycling plant to have a new life and it would be loved again as ever. So what about now? In just a moment, it became a sinner. It got angry with the people and wanted to tell them only one thing: Put the garbage into the right place, because it is wrong actions, even small, that can cause great disaster for the people themselves later on.

Nguyen Thi Van Phuong - Class 10 Biology, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: T. My – Class 7/1, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondy School

Poisoned ecosystem People are discharging thousands of tons of waste into the environment every day. Whether being buried or discharged into rivers and seas, they would all negatively impact our environment ...

Many marine animals have died from eating these wastes, even some huge creatures like sperm whales. Natural ecosystems are dying slowly because of human unconscious actions.

Nguyen Hoang Duy – Class 7/3, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Save the fishes!

“Someone please save me … help me ... ” – screams from many of us – fishes under the rivers and oceans. And I am amongst them.

Every day we see garbage and dead creatures floating around. Dirty water is poured into the ocean, making us suffer from many diseases or even taking our life.

At the moment, I don't know what to do to avoid this miserable situation because after all, I'm just a small fish. I can't swim against the ocean’s currents to find a better place to live. The only thing I can do is to stay here, waiting for the approaching death and hoping to receive the help from good friends, volunteers and people who are acting for environmental protection.

What did we do to end up like this? If you want us to continue offering you what you need, please give us a good condition to live.

Save us! Save what you have lost, even by a very small act. Please save our lives!

Nguyen Thi Phuong - Class 8/4, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

Bring back the cleanliness Protecting the environment help giving us a clean and pleasant atmosphere, reducing the amount of waste we discharge. I have been doing so with some simple actions such as picking up the trashes wherever I see and putting them in the bin, sorting my waste, cleaning up my place, reminding everyone to put garbage into the bin, and encouraging people to plant more trees to get more oxygen to make the air more comfortable to breathe.

That's what I’ve done, and what about you?

What have you done to protect your environment and our Planet Earth?

Tra My & Ngan, Class 6/3 - Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School Drawing: Tra My & Ngan – Class 6/3, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondy School

garbage That bridge over a river is considered as the town's informal site for garbage dumping. One day, a 30year-old man with two large garbage bags in his hands went there and threw them into the river.

Then came a 50-year-old woman. She was on a three-wheeled vehicle carrying a pile of garbage and tossed them all down to the river water. Yet, no one bothered to bat an eye. Only a few complaining shouts coming from a passing-by small boat on the river which was entangled with bushes and garbage.

But the woman ignored them. One by one, the garbage bags were dropped into the river.

The passersby were speechless. The people boating on the river were shouting and those sitting on the river bank shook their head. The woman “diligently” kept doing her work until there was no garbage bags left. Then she got back on her vehicle and leisurely pedaled down the street, as if she had just finished a "great" job of the day. Her face showed no signs of shame, leaving all the eyes behind. Underneath, the river was painfully swallowing the garbage bags and breathing out furious bubbles … The man on the small boat paddled quietly. On the river banks, people were got back to work, and the shops and markets were still crowded and noisy ... as nothing ever happened.

What a sad story about people's awareness!

Class 11 History-Geography, Quoc Hoc Highschool for the Gifted

Drawing: Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondy School

The bridge of

Drawing: Ho Huu Minh Nhat – Class 8/1, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

The terrifying troops In my drawing, I have personalized the waste to make them look very lively and quite a bit terrifying. I imagine that if we throw garbage all over the place and don't recycle them properly, they will rise up and invade the Earth we are living in.

Ho Huu Minh Nhat - Class 8/1, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Drawing: Huynh Thi Thanh Thuy – Class 9/3, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondy School

Think about it!

Currently, the Earth is getting warmer, resources are getting scarcer, and the environment is increasingly polluted. This is because people have had done too much impact on the environment and exploited exhaustively its resources, which causes a lot of toxic gases to emit, making the environment lose its ability to balance itself.

Anyway, I think it is not very too late now for us to join hands to save the environment. Each person only needs to do some small jobs such as: putting garbage in the right place, saving electricity, planting lots of trees or avoiding using chemicals. Those practical actions can help reduce the pollution in the environment and saving our planet.

Dang Hoai Thanh Uyen - Class 8/2, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

As we all know, environmental pollution is now so a burning problem. From Asia to Africa, heads of state to normal people, nobody couldn’t see its “dark veil”. The soil is progressively dried and eroded; the water is getting scarcer and more polluted; the air is containing more and more pollutants.

This poses a great threat to all humanity, giving the sign of the coming Day of Doom. Luckily, scientists have offered a great solution for all of us: sorting and recycling waste.

Class 9/5 - Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Drawing: Le Thi Phuong Thao – Class 9/4, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondy School

Act to survive

Difference My school has launched a project to classify garbage according to regulations and there have been many garbage bins located in the campus. However, although putting the garbage in the right bins seems to be very easy and simple, some students still have not sorted their waste, or even many of them have not been not aware of the importance of sorting waste for recycling.

Some students have still littered in the school yard, on the roadsides, on the river bank or in the nearby waterways. We all know that plastic bags or candy packaging are very difficult to decompose. Sometimes it takes these waste several hundred years or more to completely disappear. That would affect the life of the species. You see, small acts can lead to huge consequences.

Nguyen Le Thuy Trang – Class 8/2, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School Drawing: Nguyen Thi Phuong Trinh – Class 9/4, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondy School

"Knock, knock ... Knock, knock" – voiced the weak knocking sounds on the door, mixed in the barking of the two housekeeping dogs. Usually, I would not open the door, because my dogs had barked for nothing many times before. But invaded a stench into the house, urging me to put down the book I was reading to rush to the door to find out the cause. A filthy, stinking man was lying right on the door step.

Suddenly, he got up, like having escaped from a nightmare. He braced me and begged in soft voices "save me, please save me, I will explain everything later ...".

After resting a little while, he calmed down and explained: - I am a person from the future, about five centuries from your time. We don't live on the Earth but in a spacecraft drifting in the Milky Way. - He said.

- Why don't you live on Planet Earth? - I questioned.

- The Earth was extremely polluted so the governments evacuated people to protect our life. My mission is to time travel to get back here to tell you all how to classify and minimize waste in order to create a new future for all of us. But because my machine was broken, I fell to the Earth. The smart machines up there though that I was garbage and they chased me.

- I could not imagine there will be a day like that. It’s sad but true that at the moment, very few of us classify waste ... People often pile them up to throw them away since it would be easier and more convenient.

- Then, please join me to meet and tell everyone to act now to change that dark future!

Le Hoang Thao Nguyen – Class 10 Japanese, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Hieu & Chau – Class 12 English 2, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

A talk with the future

Drawing: Nguyen Thien Phu – Class 12 English 1, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Mother Nature is angry The world is suffering from more and more terrible natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, forest fires, storms, and floods ... Mother Nature is very angry now because of the ecological imbalance that we caused.

Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Y - Class 9/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School Mother Nature does give us so much, but why do we treat her like that in return? You may see that she is very frustrated now. The Earth we live is also heated up day by day. Do you all feel satisfied now?

Vo Nhu Quynh - Class 6/8, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

The talk of the bottles I am a water bottle. Like everyone in my clan, my mission is to contain water. When people buy me from the shops and drink up the water in me, they would get rid of me. They will throw me anywhere they feel convenient to. After that, I will be collected and taken to the "remake", then I will be back to the stores. There have been some bottles not that lucky, but they totally “died” and disappear forever.

Today, I was bought, used and “settled” on the side of the road as always. But today I'm not alone. You see, there are others being thrown away like me.

Some bottles were even injured. "Why did happen to them? - I wonder, as I have never been injured like that.

- Friend, were you thrown away like me? - I asked an injured bottle beside me.

- Right.

- Why were you injured?

- Sigh. It’s sad to talk about it. After using me, people not only threw me here but also cruelly crushed me like this.

- Oh God, you're so miserable.

- I’m so worried. How can I be “remade” with this shape? I would die for sure. They’re not going to “remake” me.

- I’m so sorry for you.

- What a miserable fate we have! We have to contain water for people to drink, but end up being thrown away like this. At least, they should have put us in the bin. Why did they just toss us all over the place?

- Honestly, we also have a lot of functions besides containing water. Only a little touch of hands and we’ll become another useful things.

- I know that. But people still don't do it. If they did, we would have been better.

- Yes, we’re suffering a lot. In the past, I was stored in a bucket or carton and then being collected. Now I was thrown here and have to wait for someone to come to gather.

- Sign ... We serve people, why are we treated like that?

- In the past, we had to wait for the people to separate us from the other plastic friends before we could be remade. For example, the candy packaging would be grouped in one place and we in the other.

- Although I am very grateful that they created me, they should not treat me like this.

- Didn't people create a separate bin for storing us in?

- Really? I have no idea. But if that’s true, then we’re still far from being put in there.

- I’ve learnt that before there was only one bin to store us, the packaging brothers and the paper sisters. But now there are 3 bins for us to be separated. One is for us and the metal guys, one for the paper sisters and the rest for the packaging brothers and the others.

- If that what they’ve planned to do, why did they do so and put us in the right bin?

- I also have the same question. It just takes them a little moment to do so.

- That's right! It took them more time before to separate us when we’re together. Now they just need to pick the right bin and throw us in.

- Oh, that’s People! They always talk about environmental protection but they’ve done nothing about it at all.

- If they don’t have us, how can they carry water – the thing that they really need?

- You're right, at least they should have put us in the bin. It’s much better in there, as we could reunite with our families.

- There’re a lot of people passing us. But they don't pay attention to us. What can we do then? We still have to depend on them.

- Friends, it seems the people we need are here.

- Yes, it's time to go.

- I am now grateful to those who collect us every day.

- Me too. Thanks to them we can be collected and return to the right place, meeting our brothers and sisters again.

- Well, they are already here.

- Let's go!

So both I and the injured friend were taken away.

This time, will I be “remade” or end up in the dust?

If having a “new life”, I just hope that people will not throw me out here but put me in the bin.

Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Tranh: Quỳnh Thy - THPT Chuyên Quốc Học

II. Classifying waste…

Easy or hard?

Waste recycling would not only bring about economic benefits but also make our living environment greener, cleaner, and more beautiful.

Thanks to that, each of us could live a happier and healthier life. In addition, recycling waste also generates many more other benefits ...

For example, through recycling, we consume less energy and resources than producing things from original materials and resources.

Tran Thanh My Hanh - Class 6/4, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Drawing: Tran Thanh My Ha – Class 6/4, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Why recycling?

Save papers, We all know that paper is made from many materials but the main one is pulp. So if we save and recycle paper waste, it means we are protecting trees and forest resources.

Rescue trees!

Do Thi Thanh Huyen - Class 8/3, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

Drawings (lefr to right): Nguyen Thi Phuong – Class 8/4; Le Thanh Dat – Class 8/3; Do Thi Thanh Huyen – Class 8/3, THCS Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai

Drawing: Tran Ho Nguyen Ly – Class 8/3, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

4 important benefits There are 4 important benefits of recycling waste: Firstly, by recycling we can protect the environment and nature. When we create a product from used materials, we will reduce the need of consuming new natural resources.

Secondly, it helps us save energy. Using recycled materials is more economical than using completely new materials and thanks to that, exploitation is reduced.

Thirdly, recycling is considered a friend of human.

Due to low consumption of natural resources and limited use of energy, recycling also helps to limit the amount of toxic emissions to the environment, especially greenhouse emissions.

Fourthly, it helps reduce the area and number of landfills. Currently, the amount of garbage continues to increase worldwide. Under the pressure of land shortage and growing population, it is not easy to build new or expand landfills. Therefore, waste recycling will help cut down the amount of waste discharged and narrowing the area of landfills.

Tran Ho Nguyen Ly – Grade 8/3, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Plastic should Plastic waste affects badly the environment, human health, marine ecosystems and causes many economic losses. Therefore, there should be measures in place to limit the production and use of plastic waste as well as raising people's awareness of waste classification at source.

Nguyen Le Thuy Van – Class 9/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Junior High School *** We must limit the use of plastic-made items because according to scientists, plasticmade objects, when penetrating into the soil, would interfere with the growth of plants such as trees and grasses, resulting erosion in mountainous and highland areas. In addition, some people may throw plastic waste down the drainages and make them blocked, enabling flooding in urban areas in the rainy season. Clogging of sewers facilitates mosquitoes to grow and spread diseases. More dangerously, during the burning of items made of plastic, toxic gases, especially dioxin, would emit and cause poisoning, fainting, breathing difficulty, blood vomiting, affecting the human body functional systems, potentially leading to cancers and birth defects in newborns.

Le Thanh Dat – Class 8/3, Junior High School Nguyen Thi Minh Khai

Drawing: Class 11 Chemistry 2, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

be limited

Change Drawing: Bui Nguyen Bao Thy – Tran Cao Van Secondary School

your habit Sorting and recycling waste are good things and we should share this with all family members. Doing so will bring a lot of benefits such as reducing the need of purchasing new items or cutting down waste transportation and treatment costs for the family or the community.

Many people have the habit of putting all kinds of garbage, including leftovers, broken items etc., together in one bag, or even many bags without knowing that amongst the daily wastes, there are some that can be recycled and reused for human life.

Doan Ho My Linh – Class 9/, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Drawing: Nguyen Thi Hoan My – Bui Thi Xuan High School

Do it everywhere you can!

Classifying waste is not difficult to do. With just a little bit of attention and determination, you can do it.

I have been sorting out waste at home, at school and even in public places, anywhere I see them.

Ho Van Thiet – Class 7/2, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

The saying "Waste is a resource" is very true and meaningful in the current era of waste.

In our country, waste classification is being considered a burning issue. Waste is discharged daily with bigger and bigger amount. But waste does not necessarily means useless. They become a very valuable resource if we know how to exploit and handle them effectively and appropriately.

Bui Thi Xuan High School

Drawing: N.H. Anh, T.B. Nhi, T.P.P. Uyen, D.P.D. Huy, T.V. Nhân - Bui Thi Xuan High School

a resource

Tranh: N.H. Anh, T.B. Nhi , T.P.P. Uyên, Đ.P.Đ. Huy, T.V. Nhân – Lớp 10B10, THCS Bùi Thị Xuân

Waste is

Drawing: Class 12B9 – Bui Thi Xuan High School

The village of future There is a village in Japan named Kamikatsu where people recycle up to 80% of their domestic waste and 20% of it goes back to the farms for cultivation. They are able to do it thanks to an efficient waste sorting system with 34 different trash bins.

The villagers have spent up to 12 years to build a complete recycling system. When we just started to practice with sorting garbage with mainly paper, plastic/metal and mixture waste, Japanese people have done it for so long. Can we be like them, by learning and starting to practice?

Huynh Thi Anh Thu – Grade 10 English 2, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

About The

People Around

"I’m okay. I just slipped on a banana peel and fell down. But I do not know what to do with the bread rolls”.

But I could see the bloody scratches on her hand. I knew they really hurt her. After a while, a small child, about 5 or 6 years old, ran hurriedly to the old lady and cried. It was her grandchild. I couldn't forget her dusty face. I got to know that the child was staying with her grandmother since her parents left her behind. The child was selling lottery tickets and the grandmother was selling breads.

They rely on each other to live. Looking at their tears rolling down, I couldn’t hold back my emotions. Ashamed and embarrassed were what I felt at that moment. When everyone went away, I quietly approached and apologized her and offered to give her all the money I had to make up for the breads. But instead of scolding at me and taking the money, she only told me that I should be more careful next time. Perhaps, since then, I feel more in love with the people around me and myself, for the way that I behaved.

I then chose to live a life in connection with the community: LET’S JOIN HANDS TO PUT THE WASTE INTO THE RIGHT PLACES. Le Thi My Duyen - Class 10 Math 1, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Duong Thi Huong Nguyen – Clas 8/2, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Care

I used to be a person who is quite selfish, messy and lazy.

Instead of taking some second to find a trash bin to throw my garbage in, I threw it straight onto the street every time. Every day, I woke up, went to school, studied, went home, ate and slept. My life just went through in such a boring way. But until one day, I decided to change myself and live a differently life! It was a Sunday morning, time for people to walk around the city, go shopping and relax after a tiring working week. Just like them, I was with my best friend to find street food to eat. Nothing would have happened if I didn't throw banana peels down the road.

You know what happened then? An old woman, who is a bread seller with a walking stick, stepped on them and felt down ... Pack! ... Stunned, I turned my head, seeing her lying there, with hot rolls of bread splashing on the road, and her face told me that she was in bad pain. I and everyone rushed to help her up, asking about how she felt.

At that time, her tears fell on her gentle face, yet she said:

Drawing: Nguyen Thao Nguyen & Phan Tue Tam – Class 10A1, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Change your attitude, Change your life

Any of us knows that waste reducing, recycling, and classifying would greatly affect our living environment. So why we – Vietnamese are ignoring or even refusing the importance of sorting waste? Is it true that we are too lazy, unconscious or feel that it is none of our business! We often feel comfortable throwing a plastic bag on the sidewalk or tossing a refreshment can on the street. Sometimes, we pretend to see that there is a trash cans right in front of us. We just do what we like.

Some of us may have thought: "For sure, there will be a garbage collector or someone would take care of it. Why do I bother to care?" Hey friends, if we are modern citizens living in this society, we need to understand and be responsible for the acts we do. If we cannot do this, we are not civilized people but only animals without consciousness living under the appearance of human - the noblest and the highest creature of the natural world!

Tran Thuy My Hanh - Grade 10 Japanese, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

waste classification Waste classification is the process that helps reduce the amount of waste discharged into the environment as well as save a lot of costs from waste collecting, transporting and treating.

Classifying waste at school helps reduce environmental pollution and maintain a clean and green space without affecting the teachers’ working time, students’ learning time, and the school’s budget.

Phan Thi Hong – Class 9/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Junior High School

Drawing: Nguyen Ngoc Thuy Tien – Class 6/8, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Drawing: Nguyen, Nghi, Hao, Uyen – Class 7/8, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Benefits of

Styrofoam box I am a Styrofoam box. I was made to contain food for you, like sticky rice or cakes ... I and the plastic bag are close friends. After many years being together, we fell in love with each other and got married.

We went to school with the students, carrying their breakfast, or helped contain the meals of their family and friends ... Life went on like that. Until one day, we lost each other. That morning, like everyday, we were brought by the students to the school. Usually, my wife would be "thrown" into the bin first – the mixed garbage bin, and I had to wait for the students to finish all the food to join with my wife. But then a careless action happened. The student threw me into the paper bin, making me and wife separated in two apart worlds.

What more surprising was that when I was thrown into the paper bin, I found that I was not the only Styrofoam box there. There are more than ten boxes like me and lots of other mixed waste. The bin was supposed to be a place to collect paper waste, but not only paper waste was thrown here. You students do not classify waste at all. Where is your awareness of protecting the environment?

Le Van Nhan Kiet - Class 10 Biology, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Tranh: Nguyễn Thị Phượng – Lớp 8/1, THCS Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai

Story of the

Drawing: Nguyen Thi Cam Ly – Class 8/3, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondy School

Waste does

have “value” In fact, waste is a valuable resource if we know how to make use of it. However, many people still complain that "That’s crazy! How comes waste is valuable."

From the old days, I have always dreamed about the green and tried to plant more trees, flowers to have a green house and a beautiful garden. Thanks to tree planting, I have been aware of the classification of waste quite early.

My mother often digs a hole in the garden to bury all the organic waste in it. At that time, I had not learnt about making compost from waste yet, but just knowing that if buried long enough in the ground, waste would disappear and return to soil. That simply made me happy.

Today, some types of hazardous waste such as batteries, damaged computers ... can be gathered at some locations or collected by green volunteer clubs ...

Even some small things like collecting and transporting waste to the collection sites would mean a lot to the environment.

Nguyen Hung Khanh Duyen – Class 11B11, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Drawing: Cao Hoang Minh Chau - Class 7/1, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

Small acts but… big impacts There’re things that even very small, but if we don’t do them, we can't change bigger things.

If everyone is aware of the issues and work together to protect the environment, I believe that it will get better and better.

Cao Hoang Minh Chau – Class 7/1, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

Drawing: Class 9/5, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Good for natural resources Recycling of waste not only means a lot in terms of environment but also brings about economic benefits. It hepls reduce people’s dependence on the exploitation and use of natural resources which are running out.

Nguyen Thi Phuong - Class 8/4, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Junior High School

Drawing: Le Quang Nhat Huy – Class 9/3, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Race

against time Waste classification is extremely important because if we classify them at the beginning, it would save us much more time than sorting the waste out of thousands types of waste mixed together later on.

At the same time, it contributes to making waste recycling work easier, avoiding the consequences of false or improper recycling.

Drawing: T.T.T. Linh, N.L.L. Chau, T.T.D. Quynh, V.T.P. Nhi, L.T.P. Nhi – Class 10B14, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Le Quang Nhat Huy – Class 9/3, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

It’s the awareness that counts

We need to limit the use of plastic waste. If we have to use them, we should put them into the correct bin when disposing.

Classifying waste is not difficult if we understand and pay a little bit of attention. It is important to classify waste at school or anywhere if possible.

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

Drawing: Hoang Thao Minh & Hoang Mai Minh Thu – Class 7/8, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Reconnect with nature

Contrary to economic development, the environment in many places is flooded with tons of waste. People’s consciousness, instead of progressing with the society, is going down. Litters are many and everywhere, but sadly there are very few people who are aware of treating them the right way.

However, it’s fortunate that there are still some people who still the connection with natural environment.

They express their love and care about society by voluntarily collecting and sorting waste ... I’m proud of them and also want to be like them.

Le Thi Minh Thuy – Class 10 Maths 1, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: T.Luong, V. Minh – Class 6/7, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Drawing: Nguyen Ngoc Thuy Tien – Class 6/8, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Waste sorting is fun!

After the useful extracurricular activities organized by our school and the project, we have gained a lot of knowledge and very good practice of waste sorting.

Instead of putting all the waste in one bin, we now have to separate them into “plastic”, “paper”, and “mixed”. It's very interesting.

Le Hong Nhat Lin & Nguyen Thanh Nhu – Class 7/1, Tran Cao Van Secondary School Using less, sorting, and recycling waste are good deeds that we should do to express a cutured lifestyle, show the love for nature and contributing to saving society's manpower and resources.

Truong Thi My Trinh – Class 7/2, Hoan Kim Hoan Junior High School

Drawing: Tuyet Ly, Minh Tam, Tuong Vy & Thanh Nga – Class 7/2, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Put it in the right bin!

Our drawings illustrate each of the four bins. Each bin has a different color and a drawing.

The first bin is green, containing paper waste such as milk cartons, carton boxes or scrap paper.

The second bin is blue, responsible for receiving plastic waste such as drinking water bottles, plastic cups, soft drink cans or metal utensils that we don’t need any more.

The third one is a yellow bin, used to keep things that cannot be recycled such as a pen that has run out of ink.

Finally, since we are students and we love eating snacks and dispose a lots of leftovers such as boxes of sticky rice or bread, the last bin is especially prepared by the school for us to dump our mixed waste.

Tuyet Ly, Minh Tam, Tuong Vy & Thanh Nga – Class 7/2, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Drawing: Class 9/5, Phan Sao Nam High School

Plastic bags are very difficult to decompose. It only takes five seconds to produce a plastic bage, one second to throw it away, but up to between 500 to 1,000 years for it to completely disappear.

Dinh Tran Thien An - Class 11 Math 2, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Plastic bags are harmful

Just by shifting to using paper bags instead of plastic ones, you’ll make your environment better.

Have you ever counted the number of plastic bags you use every day?

Every morning, when you buy a box of sticky rice at the school gate, the sellers will put it in a plastic bag. Every day, when you go to the market to buy food, you’ll notice that each type of food is contained in a separate plastic bag. Or in cases you simply want to bring something along, you may use a plastic bag to put it in. That poses me a struggling question: If everybody uses that many plastic bags in daily activities, then how many plastic bags would be discharged to the environment every day?

Class 11 History, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

As the resources are running out Waste collection and classification is a process in which wastes are gathered and separated into different groups for easier treatment. Classifying waste at source and recycling of waste contribute to saving costs, reducing environmental pollution, decreasing human dependence on the exploitation and use of resources that are being gradually exhausted.

Ngo Le Thuy Duong – Class 6/3, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Drawing: Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

It’s just very simple!

I have done some waste classification works and found that they’re quite simple, for example: ✓ At school, I often pick up scrap paper under the tables and on the ground and put them in the paper trash bin. I also often put my used paper into that bin. ✓ In the morning, when at school, I usually eat breakfast right on the food stalls to avoid using food containers such as plastic boxes or bags, thus helping reduce disposed waste. ✓ As for the plastic-metal trash bin, I usually put used plastic bottles or soft drink cans in it. ✓ I put the non-plastic packaging of candies or cookies I eat in the break time in the mixed trash bin.

Nguyen Thi Cam Ly – Class 8/3, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Junior High School

The story about a garbage collector Drawing: Cao Hoang Minh Chau - Class 7/1, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

Every day, at about 4 or 5 pm, I heard the familiar jingle of the garbage collection trolley. Quickly, people from the alley rush out with the trash bags that they have stored for the whole day and just toss them into the trolley. To be honest, I was not used to sorting my trash. But that day, after listening to the collector sharing her thoughts, I changed my mind.

Often, I go to school in the afternoon, so normally I’m not the person in the family to get rid of the garbage. But that afternoon, I had a day off, so when I heard the sound of the bell, I helped my mother to carry the garbage out. Our trash bag includes a lot of things, from milk cartons, sticky rice boxes, fruit peels and leftovers ... It looked so dirty that I myself didn’t dare to touch it directly but had to wear gloves carrying it.

But as soon as I dumped it in the trolley, the collector took all the smelly waste in the bag out and started sorting them without any hesitation. Curiously, I asked her why she did not just keep them all in like that but she said that it would be “… very harmful to the environment. Especially, these kinds of mixed waste are difficult to decompose, you know!”. Then, she kept doing her job until she finished. Meanwhile, I looked at her and felt embarrassed about myself. From then on, I have practiced sorting waste. In fact, it’s not difficult or tiring at all but very simple. I’d like to tell the story here hoping that you would start sorting waste, especially mixed waste, to help lighten the burden for the waste collectors and protect the environment!

Ha My Anh – Class 10 Japanese, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: P.D. Minh Nhat, V.T. Nhu Y, D. Van Duc, N.T. Dieu Huyen & N. Huu Nguyen – Class 10B7, Bui Thi Xuan High School

For a greener life Waste is an inevitable part of life. The more developed the society gets and the more modern technology is, the more possible that waste becomes a threat to human life and health.

Therefore, sorting waste is a good way to save resources, reduce pollution, and protect human health.

Some farmers nowadays even know how to use organic waste to make fertilizer.

If every families and schools are well aware of and practice waste classification, the environment would be kept green, clean, and beautiful and our lives would become better.

Class 11B7, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Drawing: Class 6/4, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

Do it together?

To save the environment which is increasingly degraded, there’re some things we can do together, for instance: ✓ Do not litter. Collect and put garbage in the right places ✓ Plant more trees to reduce environmental pollution and create nice landscapes ✓ Remind your classmates to put garbage in the trash ✓ Participate in environmental protection activities ✓ Save water ✓ Avoid using plastic bags when possible ✓ Mobilize people to participate in environmental protection Le Thi My Huyen – Class 7/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Junior High School

Drawing: Ho Thanh Viet – Class 8/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Sink in garbage?

The awareness of human beings plays a significant part in deciding the quality of the environment and the life of creatures, including that of our own.

Almost very few of us can distinguish types of waste. Many of us just simply think that if something is dirty, broken or not in use anymore, it is garbage and should be disposed.

But what more sadly is we throw all of them into the same bin or place. Sometimes, we even don’t bother throwing them into the trash bin, but toss them on the streets or anywhere we can. If things go on like this, sooner or later we will sink in garbage.

Nguyen Gia Uyen Nhi – Class 10 Japanese, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Thai Van Toan – Class 12B6, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Paper’s words from heart I am Paper, made from tree (wood) chips. I am born to serve people’s work. But when having used me up, they just throw me away. I want to live on and be used many times and I want to be more helpful for this life.

Please, don't throw me in those non-recyclable garbage bins. These are my last words to you: PLEASE PUT ME INTO THE BINS FOR RECYCLABLE WASTE! PLEASE HELP SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT BY DOING SUCH THOSE SMALL THINGS.

Cao Thị My Hao – Class 10 Ly 2, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Recycling is “cheap”?

Waste sorting is just a small thing to do but it is a nice way of showing your love and care to the people around you. Doing so will help the garbage collectors and workers save their effort from classifying and treating waste. It will also save them from breathing the smell from the unwanted waste.

Another matter which is also practical and equally important is waste recycling. Most people are reluctant to reuse recyclables because we’re afraid of being judged as "cheap" or not sure about the quality of recycled products.

But perhaps we have forgotten that plastic bags or plastic bottles will take hundreds or thousands of years to decompose completely. If we do not actively restrict and recycle waste, in just a couples of years, we will be flooded with waste that dumped by ourselves. Recycling of waste is a cultured way of life and should be practiced to help save natural resources, budget, and prevent diseases caused by environmental pollution.

Ho Thi Roi – Class 8/4, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

To be like Drawing: Class 11 Chemistry, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Singapore?

There are many people who do not know how to classify waste properly, because they have not tried it and think that it will be very difficult to do.

Waste sorting is simply easy if we know the “how”.

We should learn from Singapore. People in this country love cleanliness and they are very strict with sanitation. They have been sorting waste for a long time and it helps them better protect the environment. The education on waste sorting is taught at schools when students are at very young ages. Therefore, students are very self-conscious and serious about sorting waste and do it every day.

Ho Chi Minh City has started a campaign to encourage households to classify waste at their home. This policy is worth spreading across the country.

Dang Le Uyen Nhi – Class 7/7, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Drawing: Class 12B10, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Inspire people around you I have shared, talked with, and reminded the members in my family so that they could also sort out plastic waste.

I told my family that as a family and part of the society, we should contribute to protecting the environment to have a green, clean and beautiful one.

“I have learned these useful things at school and I have got a lot of experiences and lessons. I want to tell everyone in the family that when we put a piece of trash in the right place, we have helped lessen the hardship of the waste collectors who work out there!”.

Ngo Thi Huyen Tran – Class 7/2, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Junior High School

Drawing: Dang Ho Huong Giang – Class 10B10, Bui Thi Xuan High School

O-waste should be treated right!

Organic waste can also be used to produce fertilizer for plants or make food for animals. We should classify organic waste because: ✓ We can produce fertilizer by ourselves or sell them to fertilizer factories. ✓ They should not be mixed up with difficult-todecompose waste. ✓ It helps reduce the amount of waste discharged into the environment, thereby helping to protect the environment and reduce environmental pollution.

Nguyen Quang Ky Phuong – Class 6/7, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Drawing: L.T.C. Nhi, M.T.K. Pha, P.H.H. Vu, L.V.N. Anh & T.N.A. Phuong – Class 10B1, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Share the

same goal Waste classification at my school is registered by classes and carried out separately in each building block.

During the implementation, there are classes that are very good at it and always do it the right way.

However, there are also many classes that have not paid due attention and have not sorted waste properly.

Some students are very enthusiastic and proactive.

But some are not even aware of the harmful effects of littering. This puts burden on the others.

Class 10B1 - Bui Thi Xuan High School

Drawing: Nhat Uyen, Phan Chau, Phung Chau, Anh Thu & Thao Vy – Class 12B1, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Inspire others to act Currently, waste classification is not seen in many schools. This is the first time that we have learned about and done this work. However, the sorting activity has been carried out quite well.

The students at my school really know where exactly to put each types of waste.

Let’s join hands to protect the environment with this simple work. Let this meaning thing not only be done at school but also at home or your neighborhood by spreading your words and inspiration!

Group 8 (Phuong, Ky, Trung, Tai, Phong & Bao) Class 8/6, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Drawing: Bui Thi Xuan High School

Knowing the symbols is important To be able to classify plastic waste, we need to understand the symbols on the products. Plastics have seven different types and coded from 1 to 7. In which, numbers 1,2,4, and 5 are recyclable and quite safe when being used to store food. The others are quite harmful to our health and difficult or almost impossible to recycle since they contain toxic BPA. These symbols are usually inscribed at the bottom of plastic products and are usually quite small in size so it is sometime difficult to identify. But I have been doing plastic waste classification according to these symbols. It's difficult to classify plastic waste but it doesn't mean you can't do it. You just need to try to learn and practice frequently.

Nguyen Quang Tri – Class 7/7, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Drawing: Huynh Thi Net – Class 10B9, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Drawing: Class 9/2, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

O-waste is good for crops If we want our crops to grow well, we need to supply them with nutrients by fertilizing them. Farmers often have to spend a huge budget to buy fertilizers.

Meanwhile, we can use organic waste to produce fertilizers, which are very convenient and effective.

Organic waste is easy to be decomposed. It come from the parts that we do not use in plants or vegetables during food making or from our leftovers or foods that have gone bad. These are a good source of materials for producing compost that can be used for crops.

Nghi, Uyen, Nguyen, Hao - Class 7/8, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Drawing: Bui Thi Xuan High School

The grief of the Trash bins “Since created, we have been treated quite cruelly by some people and received no appreciation. All types of dirty, hazardous waste, such as metal trashes or batteries and recyclable waste, such as plastic or paper, are not classified but thrown directly into the same container. I feel very sad about that level of unconsciousness of human beings on waste sorting.

Elsewhere, there are other friends who are also trash bins like us but they are much happier. They are respected and assigned with clear responsibilities and functions, helping them fulfill the noble mission of the their life.

I hope that Vietnamese people will be more aware of the importance of waste classification. Waste is also a resource and it should be used wisely. Let's classify waste at school or wherever you are able to!�

Nguyen Hoang Nhat Minh - Class 10 Biology, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Class 12B3, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Three waste collection bins were installed at my school.

However, some students have not classified waste properly, so the school staff and students in the duty teams have had to do it again.

After each time doing waste classification, I find that the amount of plastic cups or soft drink bottles in the plastic waste bags is really terrifying. I have been wondering that "If these plastics had not been sorted out and treated but dumped into the environment, the consequences would have been dreadful!�

Tell me why?

We need to do something so that more and more people know about and practice waste sorting.

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

?

?

Drawing: Duong Khanh Linh – Class 7/2, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Don’t do things

by halves Simply putting all the plastic waste into the bin is not enough. We have to know which sort of waste is recyclable and which is not, so that we could protect the environment in the right way.

We need to do it because plastic waste is one of the global threats to the whole ecosystem in general and the ocean in particular.

Drawing: Duong Khanh Linh – Class 7/2, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Drawing: M.T.K. Pha, T.N.A. Phuong, L.T.C. Nhi, P.H.H. Vu & L.V.A. Nhat – Class 10B1, Bui Thi Xuan High School

It’ll get easier as we go Waste sorting? Students must have heard about this term many times through newspapers, books, television or radio etc. But what about practice? Off course, it’s still totally strange to us. We students are not familiar with it at all.

Every time we want to throw something away, we stand there and watch the three small, nice trash bins, “thinking hard” in order to classify correctly the thing that we hold in our hands.

Then there are even quarrels because none of us knows exactly what is right and what is wrong.

But adaptation is an excellent instinct that nature has given to human beings. Strange and new things would take us much time and effort to adapt. But in the long run, when we are gradually familiar with waste sorting, things will become much easier.

Nguyen Phan Thao Nhi – Class 10 Japanese, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

into the

recyclable

trash bins?

Drawing: Huynh Cao Nhat Hieu – Class 12 Biology, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

What to put

Drawing: Class 12 English 1, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Do Hoang The Phuc – Class 12 Biology, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

of paper

Drawing: Tran Thi Tieu Vy - Class 8/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

The life cycle

III. Hopes for the

future

Drawing: Class 7/1, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

The boy

in front of the school gate

There was a rich family of three, with a son of 15.

Because they were so rich, their son was over pampered. He looked down on all the poorer people, those who do things like collecting garbage or cleaning streets ...

One day, as usual, he was taken to school by his father in a luxury car. As he walked to the school gate, he carried a milk box and drink. When approaching the gate, he noticed that the trash bin was on the left side while he was on the right side. So he just dropped the milk carton right on where he was.

When he leisurely entered the school, there was a little boy going after him and calling him from behind He turned his back, seeing a boy with a thin body, dark skin, and old clothes. Like a habit, he gave the boy a disrespectful look and just stepped on.

But no, the boy still followed him and said: "Hey, there is a trash bin over there, why don't you go there and throw your thing into it. There are even three boxes for you to sort it out, why did you throw it here?". He replied lazily: "Well, I liked to throw it here!". “Do you know that was an unconscious behavior? You just created more work for the garbage collectors!”, replied the little boy, in a slightly angry tone. The rich boy then answered with a reddish face: "So what?

What does it has to do with you? You’re just a poor boy. You don’t have a say here, ha-ha”.

The little boy's face turned sad and he said: "Because my mother is the one who has to clean up the milk box that you just dumped. Every day, my mother and many other have to clean a lot of streets. You see, if there are hundreds of people littering like you every day, how miserable the workers would feel? Meanwhile, we already had a system for sorting waste into 3 main types, which are paper, plastic and mixed. Why don’t you follow? You may be rich, but you don't have the right to do that. You must do good things to help the workers and make the environment better at the same time!”.

The rich boy was speechless. He was not expecting those mature words from a little boy like him. At that moment, he was too embarrassing. But since he was so arrogant, he just walked on, not saying a word or going back to clean up his trash. Yet after some steps, he suddenly came back to picked up the milk carton and put it in the right bin on the other side of the gate.

It only takes us just some seconds or minutes to classify and put the waste in the right place. If everyone does it, the cities, streets and landscapes would become cleaner and nicer and the environment would be better. It would also save the workers from overloaded work. LET’S CLASSIFY WASTE TOGETHER! DO IT FOR US AND FOR A GREEN PLANET! Nguyen Minh Thao Hien – Class 10 Japanese, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Pham Hoang Long Nhat – Class 11 Japanese, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Class 10 History – Geography, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Le Thi Minh Duc – Class 9/1, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondy School

Drawing: Nguyen Thi Hoai Minh – Class 9/1, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

The green

message The environment is the shared home of not only humanity but also animals and plants on this planet.

As a part of the society, you and your awareness and behavior will affect our living place.

Let people and creatures live in a fresh and green home!

Truong Thi Thuy Minh – Class 10 Informatics, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Nguyen Thi Hoai Minh – Class 9/1, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

A simple happiness One day, I and my mother went to the market near the district fountain. I waited for my mother at the fountain when she was going to buy some things and took the bike. There, I saw a lot of older youngster carrying big bags and tools to pick up the trashes littered on the sidewalks.

That was what I really loved to see. After waiting for my mother for a while but she did not get back, I decided approach an older girl who was picking trashes around the fountain.

"You're a good girl! Now, join us to clean this area!"

So I started picking up the candy wraps and beer cans that people threw and put them into my pockets.

Shortly, my pockets are full. Since it was weekends, maybe more people went out and thus more trashes were there too. I was very happy to do that, because I had contributed my part to make the environment clean and green.

Truong Thi Kim Tuyen - Class 6/2, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

I asked her: "Sister, can I pick up the trash with you?"

She smiled, rubbing my head, and said:

Drawing: Hoang Thi Kim Trang – Class 9/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Bring back

the green The environment in the past was very clean.

I was told by the family members that in the old days, the water in the rivers were so clean and clear that we could see fishes and shrimps swimming in it.

But now there is a lot of garbage on the river, such as plastic bags, garbage bags, plastic bottles, and Styrofoam boxes floating all over.

I want to live in a clean environment and to see and enjoy what the people in my family told me. I think everyone wants so too.

In order to do so, we need to protect the environment, classify waste, and avoid using difficult-to-decompose items to protect our living environment.

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Secondary School

Drawing: Vo Thi Mong Binh – Class 8/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Join hands for a green

Earth Everyone should be aware of the importance of disposing waste in the right way and at the right place. We should stop littering to rivers, streams, and seas to protect the lives of living creatures and our own. Do not let waste destroy this Earth and life.

This requires the mind and hand of every one of us, no matter who we are or where we’re from. It is about the fight for the life of human beings and other creatures. If each of us does contribute a small part, we’ll together make a great chance.

Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Drawing: Do Kim Anh Duong – Class 9/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Save the future Currently, on average, Vietnam releases tens of millions of tons of domestic waste every day. Trash is littered everywhere, even in the water sources.

For big cities and urbans, the amount of waste discharged per day is even larger. There are many harms that waste causes such as degraded sanitation, bad sceneries, spreading of fungi and other bacteria, polluting the environment, including air, water and soil.

Waste is gradually invading human beings’ land and living environment. If we do not have the solution for that and take action, the world of our future children will be drown in waste.

Do Kim Anh Duong – Class 9/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Drawing: Dang Ngoc Anh Thu – Class 7/2, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Not hard to be a hero What we know for sure is that noone here wants to live in a polluted environment, don’t you?

With only a small act of putting garbage into the bin, you would become a hero by saving the environment and rescuing the nation. And if you sort your waste, it will bring about surprising benefits.

Dang Ngoc Anh Thu – Class 7/2, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Tranh: Lê Thị Mị - Lớp 9/1, THCS Hoàn Kim Hoán

Let’s work together!

The environment is now heavily damaged and more polluted day by day. However, there are still many people saying: "The environment is about providing us what we need to live. Why not cutting trees to make paper or catching as many fishes as possible with electricity or mines ...". Meanwhile, many people are fighting for the environment. They form many clubs to act together to bring back the green ...

Le Thi Hong - Class 8/1, Hoan Kim Hoan Secondary School

Drawing: H.T.Y. Nhi, H.L. Tinh, N.T.H. Nhung , D. T. Trinh & N.T.P. Dung - Class 10B3, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Super-Trash bin Plastic waste is about to conquer our Earth. They pollute the environment and cause heavy losses to humans and creatures.

And in that emergency situation, the savior of the Earth appeared. Can’t be no one else but the “Super-Trash bin", who will destroy all the forces of plastic invaders.

Our hero fights "For a green Earth" and he wishes that everyone on this planet would classify all kinds of waste properly.

Duong Yen Vy - Class 7/2, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Drawing: Duong Yen Vy – Class 7/2, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

The

the Green Protect the environment so we can live in a fresh and beautiful atmosphere that God has given to human beings!

Protect the green, clean and beautiful Earth and keep its forever green!

Le Van Hieu – Class 7/5, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Drawing: Le Van Hieu – Class 7/5, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Protect

Drawing: Nguyen Hoang Duy – Class 7/3, Tran Cao Van Secondary School

Practice the 3R

principle I have been and will take further actions into sorting and recycling waste. Specifically, I will stick to the principle of 3R: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

They are only small things, but I think that by doing them, I can contribute significantly to protecting the environment.

If I can send a message to everyone to motivate them to protect the environment more positively, I will say: "Let's join hands for a green, clean, beautiful environment and make it better everyday. Remember that “as you sow, so shall you reap”.

Tong Phuoc Thang – Class 8/1, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Drawing: Nguyen Tieu Long Van - Class 10 Japanese, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Drawing: Ngo Nhat Thanh Liem – Class 10B9, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Drawing: Tran Anh Khoa – Class 7/5, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Dreaming

of a green planet The main cause of the current serious environmental pollution is human unconsciousness. So I drew a picture with the hope that everyone will join hands to protect the environment. In my drawing, there are students having fun in the shade of green trees, a very clean space, blue sky, flying birds amongst green lines of trees and vast meadows.

At the center of the drawing, there are two caring hands showing a desire that everyone would join hands to protect the environment and to keep it green, clean and beautiful.

I wish our environment is always clean and pure so that we can play and study on a green planet.

Tran Anh Khoa – Class 7/5, Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Drawing: Dang Thanh Nhat – Class 11B2, Bui Thi Xuan High School

Recycling vs. Disposing Have you ever thought about what to do with something you are about to throw in the trash bin?

Probably few people would bother to, because what you intend to throw in the trash bin will have no value for you to "use" anymore. If I ask you why you do that, then maybe the answer I get will be: "What to do with it?", "Come on! Don’t waste your time thinking! Just get rid of it!

You guys! I think before you throw away something, you should consider whether it can be reused or whether it can be turned into something else useful, or in other words, please find a way to RECYCLING it!

Recycling will help limit the amount of waste released every day and contribute to reducing environmental pollution. Something that can be recycled should not be ignored or easily discarded. So, the next time before you intend to throw something away, remember that RECYCLING IS MUCH BETTER THAN DISPOSING! Ly Van Nhat Tien & Tran Dai Quy – Class 10 English 2, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

responsibility Protecting the environment is the responsibility that everyone must share.

Protecting the environment is to protect our own life and people around us. As the environment is gradually exhausted satisfying our individual needs, it is extremely essential to minimize, classify, reuse and recycle waste.

Phan Sao Nam Secondary School

Drawing: Van Nguyen Dao Ngoc Hanh - Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

Share the

Drawing: Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted

The Centre for Social Research and Development (CSRD) is based in Hue, Vietnam. It is a self-funded non-government organization (NGO) working to seek justice for vulnerable communities threatened by external change. CSRD has retained a geographical focus in Thua Thien Hue and adjacent provinces in the Central Region of Vietnam but has also undertaken projects throughout the lower Mekong.

Address: 2/33 Nguyen Truong To Str., Hue City, Vietnam This book is published with funding from The United States Agency for International Development (USAID).