After 10 months of implementation (May 2024–March 2025), the project “Developing and Implementing a Roadmap to Reduce Single-Use Plastics in Son Tra District, Da Nang,” carried out by CAB Vietnam with the support of Pacific Environment Vietnam (PE-VN), has achieved many positive results, opening up the potential for future replication.
With a budget of USD 23,600, the project reached 239 teachers, staff members, and nearly 4,000 students at four schools: Vanh Khuyen Kindergarten, Quang Trung Primary School, Nguyen Chi Thanh Secondary School, and Son Tra High School. Key activities included participatory assessments and planning at each school, along with training for teachers and staff. Following these activities, schools independently developed 229 lessons integrating plastic reduction topics, engaging 7,398 student attendances. Additionally, 12 communication events attracted 9,152 student participants, and 65 plastic reduction solutions were implemented in school kitchens, offices, and classrooms, such as replacing single-use items with reusable alternatives, encouraging students to bring personal water bottles, and using containers instead of plastic bags.
Key results:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝟯𝟴.𝟰% 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗵 𝗞𝗵𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗻 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝟴𝟬.𝟯% 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂 𝑵𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
However, the demand for breakfast and snacks among high school students remains a challenge. Most ready-to-eat food sold near schools is packaged in single-use plastics, and vendors often refuse to accept containers brought by buyers. In response, schools continue communication efforts to encourage behavior change, while also calling for stronger coordination from local authorities to ensure that food vendors comply with Directive No. 33/CT-TTg (dated August 20, 2020) on “Enhancing management, reuse, recycling, treatment, and reduction of plastic waste.”
With a detailed implementation guide on reducing single-use plastics in schools developed by the project and PE-VN’s ongoing commitment to support, the model has proven feasible and is ready to expand to other schools, not only in Da Nang but also in other localities.
CAB sincerely thanks PE-VN, the participating schools, parents, and communities for joining hands to build a participatory roadmap for plastic reduction, a strong foundation for scaling across the city.
Link for Guideline Manual in Vietnamese: https://cab-vietnam.org/?page_id=6388
