Swap trash for gifts at Green Vietnam Festival

Many people in Ho Chi Minh City brought plastic bottles, milk cartons, old clothes to booths at the Green Vietnam Festival to exchange for gifts, shopping vouchers, succulents, etc.

Chen chân đổi rác lấy quà tại Ngày hội Việt Nam Xanh - Ảnh 1. — Ms. Van and Ms. Thu, primary school teachers in Tan Binh, carefully researched the program via Facebook, came to participate and brought gifts for the students - Photo: VAN TRUNG

According to Tuoi Tre Online , on the first day of the Green Vietnam festival, hundreds of people flocked to the Youth Cultural House (4 Pham Ngoc Thach, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) to explore green booths, play games and receive gifts.

Many people do not hesitate to carry large and small bags containing bottles, old clothes to the gift booths to exchange for shopping vouchers, succulents, milk, household items, etc.

Chen chân đổi rác lấy quà tại Ngày hội Việt Nam Xanh - Ảnh 2. — Vinamilk's green experience space is crowded with customers coming to exchange milk cartons for gifts - Photo: QUANG DINH

Carrying 42 cartons of fresh milk and nearly 10 plastic bottles, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Bao Ngan eagerly visited Vinamilk's experience space to exchange gifts. "I have exchanged 3 cartons of fresh milk and 1 succulent plant. Now I am walking around the festival and playing games again," Ms. Ngan shared.

Ms. Ngan said that her family has two children, one 4 years old and one 7 years old, so every day her family throws away quite a lot of fresh milk cartons. Knowing that milk cartons are a type of waste that is difficult to recycle, Ms. Ngan always keeps the milk cartons, sorts them, and washes them to avoid throwing them into the environment.

"I really like this event because it is not only interesting but also helps me understand more about environmental protection," she shared.

As a lover of green living, Ms. Ngan said she was very excited to hear that at the event there was a machine to sort trash and recycle on the spot (Botol).

Therefore, she not only participated alone but also brought her 68-year-old mother along, so that both mother and daughter could experience the recycling and waste sorting machines at the festival.

Chen chân đổi rác lấy quà tại Ngày hội Việt Nam Xanh - Ảnh 3. — Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Bao Ngan excitedly experienced the green space and exchanged green gifts at the event - Photo: QUANG DINH

Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan (living in District 3) was also excited to participate in the festival. She said that her family had been accumulating many unused bottles for a long time but did not know how to dispose of them. Now that she brought them to the festival to exchange for gifts, she felt very happy.

In particular, she was surprised to learn that coffee grounds can be recycled into many products such as cups, t-shirts, pens, thermoses...

"Things that are considered trash can be turned into beautiful and useful things," said Ms. Lan.

Meanwhile, Ms. Le Thi Linh Chi (living in Go Vap district) brought to the festival a bag of old clothes with the hope of exchanging them for shopping vouchers at Ben & Tod and deodorizing socks made from coffee grounds from Faslink fashion.

"I heard that coffee socks have excellent deodorizing properties. I've wanted to try them for a long time but haven't bought them yet. Now I have the chance to try them," Chi happily said.

As a shopping enthusiast, Ms. Chi admits that it is often difficult to deal with old clothes. "It's a pity to throw them away, but it's a sin to keep them. Throwing them away is polluting, but keeping them makes my closet cluttered. Thanks to today's event, I can both experience new clothes and 'change the life' of old clothes," she excitedly shared.

Besides exchanging gifts, many people enthusiastically participated in practical activities, games and creative experiences such as mini games of trash classification, painting, workshops...