Plastic Free July is an opportunity to practice plastic reduction all month long, and to create sustainable foundations for long-term change. This July, we are proud to celebrate the results of our partner GreenHub’s efforts to tackle plastic pollution in one province in Vietnam. 

GreenHub wrapped up a comprehensive three-year project (ending March 2025) to reduce plastic waste and promote zero-waste practices in Phu Yen, a coastal province in central Vietnam. Working with local communities, schools, businesses and the government, GreenHub developed a long-term, community-centered approach to reducing plastic. This resulted in a landmark plastic reduction roadmap adopted for implementation in several sectors by the government of Phu Yen, aimed at phasing out many kinds of single-use plastic. 

Pacific Environment is proud to share the results of this project, which we have supported for several years through financial support and thought partnership. The Phu Yen project is just one of many partnerships we’ve built to advance zero-waste models and policy from the grassroots to the national level in Vietnam.

Operationalizing zero waste

Since 2019, Phu Yen province has made efforts to reduce plastic waste, but implementation and compliance have been a challenge. GreenHub sought to support implementation and synergize Phu Yen’s zero-waste transition across sectors such as schools, businesses, government agencies and markets. Strategies to address these gaps included: 

• Developing a clear framework, including targets and timelines for governments and businesses to reduce single-use plastics and implement more effective waste sorting  
• Scaling zero-waste models across a variety of sectors, including hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, markets and schools of different sizes 
• Building capacity through zero-waste courses for local leaders and government officials 
• Conducting outreach to showcase zero-waste success stories 
• Collaborating with the private sector to merge business and sustainability goals

Raising awareness about waste reduction

Throughout this period, GreenHub worked closely with local residents, schools and marketplaces in Phu Yen to reduce the use of single-use plastics at both the systemic and individual levels and implement more effective waste sorting. 

GreenHub implemented Knowledge-Attitudes-Practice surveys, along with waste audits for households, schools, hotels and restaurants. These tools help determine where waste is coming from and why. With this understanding, GreenHub was able to tailor solutions for local needs and achieve higher impacts.

For example, the audits revealed that the majority of plastic waste generated by hotels came from single-use plastic amenity kits in rooms such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, etc., while restaurant waste mainly came from plastic bags used during daily purchases of ingredients like vegetables, meat and seafood.

“The three-year work package was designed to introduce zero waste practices while identifying locally appropriate solutions for reducing plastic waste. With the support of Pacific Environment Vietnam, we were able to empower communities in Phu Yen to become the drivers of change in their own neighborhoods,” said Han Nguyen Bao, project coordinator at GreenHub.

There are many challenges to encourage behavioral change to adopt plastic alternatives. That’s why Phu Yen residents were involved throughout the plan’s implementation to build community-led capacity and action through education, engagement and hands-on practice. All activities were tailored to local realities. The solutions must be affordable, convenient for the participant, as well as culturally relevant. For example, it is common in Vietnam to sell and buy fresh food from local markets, where plastic bags have now become common. In this case, reusable bags must be easy to hold while riding a motor bike (a frequently used form of transportation) as well as easy to drain and clean because they often are used for seafood.

From left to right: Women’s Union members using the refill station at the Ward 7 location; Participants make bio-detergent at Chop Chai Cooperative; Market vendors in Phu Yen learn how to encourage reusable use.

GreenHub also held training sessions and stakeholder dialogues involving local authorities, civil society groups, youth and businesses, forming strong local coalitions committed to waste reduction and environmental protection.

Through this three-year project, over 4,300 residents were reached directly through awareness and educational efforts. A total of 17 community-based source separation models were successfully implemented. More than 200 local officials, teachers, students and volunteers were trained to manage and scale up waste reduction activities in their areas. Additionally, over 50 events were held to mobilize collective actions and share knowledge on sustainable waste solutions.

Accelerating policy shifts 

Momentum from the project accelerated the adoption of an official zero waste policy. On December 13, 2024, the Phu Yen Provincial People’s Committee issued Decision No. 1713/QD-UBND, approving a provincial plan to reduce the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags and single-use plastic products. This marked the first time a provincial government in Vietnam had approved a roadmap for reducing single-use plastic in schools or any other sector. These developments reflect the government’s commitment to sustaining and scaling the progress achieved through the initiative, paving the way for a long-term, province-wide transition toward zero waste and serving as a model for other regions in Vietnam.

Further advancing these goals, on March 3, 2025, the Committee released Plan No. 43/KH-UBND, outlining the implementation of solid waste sorting across the province. Solid waste includes separating discarded materials into different categories to facilitate recycling, reuse and proper disposal. With these systems in place, less waste ends up in landfills and incinerators, and more resources can be recovered. In Phu Yen, waste sorting systems were developed and operationalized across communities, becoming real-life models of how zero waste practices can be integrated into daily routines.

“The initiative has not only raised public awareness on the impacts of plastic waste, but also provided practical support for implementing reduction models, fostering positive changes in consumer behavior and waste management,” said Tran Thi Kim Tuyen, Pacific Environment’s communications manager in Vietnam. “Pacific Environment Vietnam believes that with collective effort, the journey towards a zero waste Vietnam will continue to make strong, meaningful progress.”

We are proud to support GreenHub on this inspiring journey toward zero waste in the Phu Yen province (DakLak after the country restructuring). The plans’ success highlights the importance, and power, of local awareness, action and capacity-building in order to implement more effective waste management systems and most importantly, to create less waste in the first place. We look forward to seeing these effective models expand to other provinces, helping build a zero waste future for Vietnam.