Meet the men who clear Vietnam beaches of garbage, pollutants

(VNF)- Two Vietnamese men have gone to great lengths to clear their country’s beaches and streets of litter over the past few years, while a Canadian middle-ager also picked up rubbish during his stay in Vietnam.

A middle-aged man, who usually goes by Tuan – his first name – only, is often seen amidst high heaps of rubbish and animal carcasses on a street located in La Gi Town in the south-central province of Binh Thuan.

The man meticulously picked up every piece of litter and put it into large sacks, which will be collected later by garbage trucks, before burning inflammable items himself.

A local observed the neighborhood would be brimming with litter but for Tuan’s silent, useful work.

Some others said the man, who has no relatives and first appeared in the neighborhood a few years ago, clears dumping grounds which mindless residents have turned into such improvised garbage bins on an almost daily basis.

After getting done with the streets, Tuan goes on to pick up litter on the beaches.

Similarly, over the past few years Tran Xuan Mao, 70, has been a fixture on Nam O Beach in Lien Chieu District’s Hoa Hiep Bac Ward in the central city of Da Nang.

He has collected litter on the beach every day since 2010, when his children took him from his hometown to Da Nang so that they can take better care of him.

Mao shared he began picking up garbage on Nam O Beach while taking leisure strolls there. The act has unknowingly become his habit since.

Many observed that he has helped clear up the 3-kilometer Nam O coast, which stretches from the Lien Chieu Bridge to a barracks located at the foot of the well-known Hai Van Pass.

Binh, Mao’s wife, revealed he typically gets up around four or five every morning and tirelessly picks up litter until midday, even well into the evening sometimes.

The Hoa Hiep Bac Ward People’s Committee has presented the elderly man with a certificate to acknowledge his noted contributions to environmental protection.

Even some environmentally conscious expats join the garbage collection quest in Vietnam.

Pierrot, a Canadian in his 50s, is seen collecting litter in a beach in Nha Trang City, located in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa. (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Pierrot, a Canadian in his 50s, cleaned up a beach along Pham Van Dong Street in Nha Trang beachside city for some months during his stay in Vietnam.

He went to great lengths to collect trash dumped on the beach like plastic bags or straws, bottles, canvas and put them into a big plastic bag that he later threw into a garbage bin nearby.

The man shared he developed the habit of cleaning up beaches when he was a child as he found beaches at home were polluted.

“So I try to collect trash at all countries I’ve been to. I’m unhappy seeing lots of rubbish on gorgeous beaches like in Nha Trang,” the Canadian man added.

What he did inspired some local adults and children to join him in collecting rubbish./.

by VNF