PPDN SUMMER UPDATE!

We’ve had a busy and productive summer at Precious Plastic Da Nang, so we wanted to share what we’ve been up to.

MACHINES

This Summer kicked off with some really great news for us. Through a charitable donation from the students at Da Nang University of Technology we acquired our shredder. The students built this machine for their end of year project and Professor Haoi Nam Le contacted us to arrange the donation of the machine. The mechanical parts were all in working order but required a motor to make functional. This is where our volunteer Ian Laux came to our rescue. Ian is an Electrician with extensive mechanical know how who volunteered his time to help us find, buy, install and calibrate the motor.  Our next challenge was to find a suitable place to keep our machines. More great news- we have formed a wonderful partnership with Mien Thao Nguyen and Nguyen Ba Hoi at Makerspace and they have dedicated a space for Precious Plastic in their workshop. We have been able to shred our first batch of PET and HDPE plastic and are ready for our second experiment with melting and forming plastic products. (The first experiment is another story altogether.)

EDUCATION

We were contacted by Paw For Compassion and invited to participate in their Summer Workshop for kids. Happily, we agreed to run 4 workshops on the theme of recycling in conjunction with other NPOs promoting animal welfare, arts, yoga, sustainable gardening and life-long learning. Our workshops ranged from simple crafts repurposing recyclable objects to education on how to sort recyclables and the importance of reducing single-use plastics. We had a lot of fun working with the kids and are very proud of the collaborative effort between Paws and other like-minded NPO and individuals working in the community.

CLEAN-UPS

One of the things we are most excited about this summer is the success of our clean-up days! Beginning in July we organized twice monthly clean up days in Da Nang, focusing mostly on the Son Tra area. We have been blown away by the response to these gatherings, on our first clean up over 80 volunteers showed up to help us pick up trash at Bien Dong beach. Through these clean-ups we have met so many wonderful people who have dedicated their time and effort to restoring our environment. We plan on continuing these clean-ups for as long as the weather co-operates with the goal of restoring the natural beauty to Da Nang.

WHAT’S NEXT?

With summer winding down, we are looking ahead to the autumn. Our next big goal is to fund and build our extruder. This machine will allow us to easily melt and form plastic into a new, usable object, thus completing the circle of recycling. How do we fund our project? We are entirely donation-based, relying on contributions of time and money from members of the community. We are excited to join the Healthy Farms Farmers Market on August 26^th. At our table you can find videos of our events, information about recycling, games using repurposed materials and you can come talk to our team to find out how you can get involved with Precious Plastic Da Nang. Of course, we are always grateful for donations in the form of cash, but if you want to help out in other ways please come talk to us.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

PPDN was formed 10 months ago by a group of expats who wanted to help solve the problem of plastic pollution in Da Nang. During that time, we have been so lucky to have 2 new members join our core team. Linh and Tien are two amazing women who have been instrumental to our successes this summer. They are both locals who have dedicated many hours to our cause by acting as our translators, communicators and problem-solvers, not to mention sweating it out on the beach with us during clean-ups and workshops. We are overjoyed to have them on our team! When we first organized PPDN it was with the knowledge that we would need a lot of help to keep this project going regardless of who was involved in the core team. Being expats, we also knew there would be a time when some of us would leave Vietnam. Sadly, that time is fast approaching for 2 of our core members; Alyona and Kira will be leaving Da Nang this autumn. Haylie, one of our founding members, is also expecting a big change as she is due to have a baby this September. We are excited to welcome our youngest member of PPDN to the team, but we anticipate that with all the changes taking place we will also need to recruit more volunteers to help us keep the project running smoothly. It was always our intention that this would be a self-reliant organization that would continue to grow and evolve to fit the needs of Da Nang. If you want to become involved with Precious Plastic please talk to us, we need you!

 

WHEW! THE END

 

Recycling Education!

Precious Plastic Da Nang is happy to announce that we have free lesson plans available for all who want them! We think it is important to educate the next generation about recycling and the positive impact we can all have on our planet.  Please feel free to use, share, and let us know how your lessons went.

Primary kids lesson plans

Intermediate lesson plans

-The PPDN team

3 Easy Ways to Ease the Plastic Burden

Living in Vietnam is wonderful. The people are kind, the food is delicious, the scenery is breathtaking. I truly believe this or else I would promptly find a new place to call home.

But no place is perfect, and every country is plagued with its own set of problems. It is no secret that Vietnam suffers from unsightly pollution and plastic refuse scattered across its terrain. Because Vietnam is a developing country, it suffers from a fundamental lack of understanding concerning the environment, and the harm that plastic and other non-biodegradable products inflict on the environment.

Vietnam also possesses nearly 3260 km of coastline, which means that it is constantly being attacked by land and by sea from all angles, at all times, by man made trash.

Although I am not new to loving the planet, and wanting to protect it, I have not done as much as I could to reinforce what I believe. So recently I sat down and tried to come up with just 3 simple ways I can start to make a small individual impact. Here is what I came up with:

Reuse Plastic Bags

I cannot possibly calculate how many thousands of old plastic bags haunt my house at this moment. They lurk behind the refrigerator, stuffed in between cabinets, under the water cooler, and everywhere in between. Yet I always find myself complaining about the rampant use of plastic bags for no good reason.

So one of the simplest solutions I could muster up to solve this dilemma, was to round up a bunch of them, and stuff them under my bike seat. You never know when a bag might come in handy, and now you can awkwardly request in broken Vietnamese that you can use one of your many “gently used” old bags, when you buy a Bánh Mì or some Mì Quảng.

Trust me you will get used to them thinking you are an insane person, and they will resist at first thinking there is something wrong with you or that they misheard what you said, but stay strong and reuse those bags. It might seem like a small gesture but if even one other person sees this, maybe it will challenge them to think about why you do this and maybe others will do the same.

Carry Tupperware With You

Ahhh….so you thought that reusing old plastic bags stored under your motorbike seat was going to be awkward. Try skipping that nasty styrofoam container when you purchase some Cơm Gà from that friendly lady on the corner. They of course will think you are the strangest person on the planet, but I am hoping that if enough people start for going single use street food containers, someday it might become commonplace to do so, removing countless refuse from our oceans, rivers, streams, etc.

Pick up 5 Pieces of Garbage

This one is quite obvious, although I find not that many people do it. Remember those crazy plastic bags that hide under your seat now (right?!?!), grab one of them everytime you leave your house or apartment, and fill it with 5 pieces of random garbage you see when you are headed to work, or enjoying the beach on your day off. Of course you can be more ambitious and fill a bag full of plastic garbage everytime you leave home, but by promising to yourself that you will pick up 5 pieces of plastic every trip outside you take, you will be helping the world, even if it is a little bit at a time.

Another underrated benefit of doing this, is that some people who have lax views on pollution will see you do it, and wonder why. I recently hauled up a bag of beer cans and garbage from the beach near Hai Van pass on a camping trip, while tourists and Vietnamese vacationers alike snickered at me as they walked past. I could tell by their reaction that they rarely, if ever, see people removing trash.

Why it Matters

This of course isn’t intended to be criticism aimed at the people of Vietnam, or any people in particular, but the main problem is that not enough people know about how damaged our ecosystem is. It might be common sense to people from certain countries, but even those countries once faced similar pollution. I have hope for the people of Vietnam, and for the people of Earth, to one day clean up out act for good; and it is easy to be discouraged about how little power we as individuals have to positively affect the world.

But until I can think of something better I will continue to elicit looks of surprise from confused locals as I request they fill my tupperware with delicious street food, and use my second hand bags, as it is the very least I can do. I hope some of you will do the same!

by Carmelo Giuliano

DO sweat the small stuff!

Did you know there is a massive blob of plastic and other refuse slowly churning in the Pacific Ocean? I for one know I was horrified when I first heard about it for myself. The bevy of garbage occupying the center of the Pacific has been dubbed the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, and is estimated to contain upwards of 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in addition to the other ingredients in marinating in the toxic stew. Although the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is the largest on Earth, and happens to be nearly three times the size of France, it is far from the only one, as our reckless ways have spilled over into the water that covers two thirds of the planet.

The good news– There are so many inspiring inventors out there who are concerned with the state of the environment and the health of our oceans. Gargantuan devices are being deployed every day by savy environmentalist to combat the “plastic plague” humans have unleashed. These machines scour the ocean with nets or catching mechanisms that channel waste into containers for collection and eventual recycling.

And now for the bad news….

Remember that 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic dancing around in the Pacific currents? An overwhelming majority of the plastic is small barely visible microplastics, which wreak havoc on the food chain and ultimately poison those of us that eat seafood. Due to the strength of the ocean currents, combined with photodegradation (decomposition due to the sun’s radiation), the plastic breaks down further and further until it can no longer be seen, making the cleanup process that much more difficult. It is quite easy for these large aforementioned mechanical behemoths to scoop up the water bottles, garbage bags, toothpaste tubes, etc, but the real challenge is figuring out how to filter out these microplastics before they breakdown to far.

On this front, there is not a lot the average person can do these days, unless you are the next Nikola Tesla or Thomas Edison. One thing that can be done by everyone however, is ditching the face washes, and other assorted beauty products with tiny plastic microbeads, and finding alternatives with natural substances instead. Currently the Great Lakes region is suffering because these microbeads are rinsed from peoples faces and washed down the drain, usually ending up in our water supply where the already tiny particles become smaller and smaller until sooner or later, we are drinking plastic. Additionally, plastic acts as a magnet for bacteria, which makes it a health hazard for a variety of reasons.

I usually enjoy focusing on the positives of the fight for the environment, but sometimes the alarm needs to be sounded, and harsh truths must be spoken. We cannot sit around and wait for the government or nonprofit organizations to clean up the mess for us, as it has become a problem that threatens all of us. Don’t be discouraged by this, and instead let it inspire you to do more to combat rampant pollution of the world’s oceans.

by Carmelo Giuliano

 

The Plastic Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back

It breaks my heart everytime I visit the beach. It wasn’t always this way but lately I haven’t been able to enjoy the beach without seeing an assortment of cigarettes scattered in the sand like a giant ashtray. I can’t remember the last time I swam without a plastic bag wrapping around my leg, making me jump up in alarm each time, thinking it’s some sort of jellyfish. After rainstorms, the beach is seemingly more plastic than sand.

At first I was angry and depressed by the state of the world. How rampant apathy could lead to such a revolting turn of events. I would be remiss not to mention that it isn’t just countries like Vietnam contributing to this global problem. Every country in the world is or was at some point, a major part of this plastic crisis. It is certainly easy to get tangled up in playing the blame game, choosing to talk about the problems while offering little solution. Unfortunately this is a complicated disaster that will take many years and a lot more effort from this planet’s citizens to combat it. I see how discouraging this can be to try and solve this entire dilemma single handedly.

If you truly want to start off on the right foot, there are countless things to do. I am not even talking about recycling or picking up garbage on the beach or in the forest (although these are surely great examples!). No, the easiest, simplest, and most effective thing you can do to start, is be more conscious of the amount of plastic you use on a daily basis. It is impossible to cut it out of your life completely, but start by trying to be more deliberate with your actions. Practice analyzing utilitarian objects you find yourself using all the time and questioning if there is some alternative you can use that is less harmful and impactful to the ecosystem. Even better, maybe you don’t need that object at all, which leads me to my favorite example: the plastic straw.

It took my years to finally realize that the straw was maybe one of the most wasteful and pointless inventions used on a widespread level. How much harder is it to sip from your cup or mug or bottle? How much more effort do you actually need to expel to lift your drink to your lips? They are frivolous at best and destructive at their worst. If you find yourself absolutely needing to slurp liquid through some sort of tube, luckily for you there are much better alternatives to utilize such as the metal or bamboo straws that don’t end up in a landfill or an ocean after one single use. The straw is an easy target, but the real reason for this informative post is to help people become more informed about the seemingly small choices they make each day. Most of the time convenience is the driving factor, and I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t part of the problem myself. I still use plastic bags when I go to the market and forget my canvas bag. I still buy takeout in a styrofoam carton when I am late to work and haven’t eaten yet.

Think about what you can do to cut out as much plastic from your life as possible, and work from there. The world changes one person at a time, and leading by example is the most effective way. Use less straws, buy a water bottle you can frequently refill, only buy fruit and vegetables that aren’t shrink-wrapped in plastic, bring your own bowl to get street food even! Surely all of these will inconvenience you at least a little, but that is the point. Sacrifice that convenience because you want to go to the pristine beach and swim in the flawless, azure waves. You owe it to yourself and your fellow earth-dwellers!

-Carmelo Giuliano

How hard would it be to go plastic free?

With all this much-needed spotlight on how plastic—more specifically, virgin plastic—is negatively impacting our oceans, sea life, and inevitably, our children’s futures, I wondered how hard it would be to go plastic free. Sometimes it feels like no matter how hard I try EVERYTHING comes in plastic. Sometimes it feels like a never-ending plastic battle! From small items like lip chap containers to larger items like organizational baskets (e.g. for shelves, cupboards, clothes), plastic is EVERYWHERE.

 

I decided to question my own plastic consciousness and see just how much plastic I, a plastic-aware individual, have in my own home, by counting each plastic item I own. Although I was nervous for the exercise, it was something I felt I needed to do in order to get a true, clear picture of how much plastic surrounds my life…whether I wanted to admit it or not. I required a starting point to see what more I could do, because let’s face it there’s always something more we can do to decrease our environmental footprint.

 

After I began counting the plastic items in my home, I realized I needed to put some parameters in place for myself:

 

1-I didn’t count food items. Yes, I know, food packaging is a huge aspect of plastic waste; however, I was pretty sure my number was going to be large enough as it was to fully understand where I was in this plastic-filled world.

 

2-I didn’t include plastic items that I was already up-cycling and/or repurposing.

 

3-I counted items that contained various amounts of plastic—from one small plastic end of a zipper to the several items that were made up of 100% plastic.

 

After my little experience, I discovered that in my tiny apartment where only two adults reside, I possessed 314 items that were made of some amount of plastic. From the clips on my bicycle helmet to my 3-piece salad spinner, over 300 items contained some amount of plastic.

 

Now, truthfully, that number was higher than I expected. When I thought about the addition of all the plastic around my packaged dry food sitting in my cupboard, along with several items I’m sure I missed counting, my heart sunk. It sunk because I realized that if my number was that high, how high is a family of 4? And, how high is it for people who don’t view plastic as a negative thing?

 

So, why are so many things made from plastic these days? Why do we continue to purchase items that contain plastic when we know just how horrible it is for the environment? And, what can we do to fight this plastic battle?

 

COST. Let’s admit it, cost sometimes plays a factor into buying plastic items. There are alternatives to plastic—wood, stainless steel, glass, etc.—but sometimes those alternatives are outrageously priced, which makes the plastic item more intriguing.

 

When thinking about the COST, also think about the quality. A stainless steel water bottle will most likely last longer than a plastic replica, so in the end, you will be saving money.

 

EASE. Let’s be honest, we’re all (a bit) lazy and pressed for time a majority of the day. Finding and using items made from plastic rather than searching out other alternatives, or purchasing a smoothie so you don’t have to make one at home are both usually much easier.

 

When thinking about EASE of finding alternatives to plastic, be mindful before you leave home. Pre-pack a smoothie cup, coffee mug and/or water bottle in your bag or vehicle if you tend to stop to get your favourite drink throughout your day. Soon enough, even when you’re on the go, it will become an easy habit to have the reusable alternative with you.

 

AVAILABILITY. Depending on where you live, and what is readily available in your particular city, can sometimes be a huge deciding factor on how much plastic you take home. Your preference may be to buy milk in glass bottles but it may be impossible if it is not an option nearby.

 

When AVAILABILITY is an issue, just do your best. When you can buy products in plastic-free containers, choose to do so. One less plastic container at a time is one less in the environment. And, for those options that only come in plastic, reuse/repurpose them to cut down on the environmental impact.

 

Asking that question again: How hard would it be to go plastic free? As much as I don’t want to admit it, I believe going completely plastic free is impossible in this day in age. However, if we all work to decrease the amount of plastic we purchase, rely on, and use on a day-to-day basis then it will trigger something. It will trigger companies to rid of pointless packaging. It will trigger restaurants to find alternatives to plastic straws. It will trigger the grocery stores to avoid giving plastic bags. It will trigger cafes to find alternatives to plastic take-away containers. It will trigger your neighbours to think twice about how much plastic is in their life.

 

Plastic free may not be in our books, but plastic consciousness is a tangible goal that everyone can excel at if it is first attempted.

 

Simply Going Green in 2018

There’s so much negative talk these days in regards to how much work the human population needs to do to help our ecosystem thrive once more. Even though the shocking facts, documentaries, and news articles are important to really demonstrate how much needs to be done, encouraging words are also needed to help people make a change.

 

It’s safe to say that most people reading this post are plastic conscious—and if you’re new to plastic-awareness, don’t worry as you’re in the right place! Many of us think about reducing, reusing, and recycling our plastic (maybe even other recyclable materials as well) on a daily basis. However, have you ever wondered what more you can do to positively impact the environment? Perhaps you’re looking for a Green Goal for 2018. With a new year here, let’s optimistically discuss simple habits that you can add to your life to help with the plastic problem.

In Restaurants/Take Out:

• Ask for no straw when placing your order
• Ask for no plastic utensils when getting food delivered to your home
• Order ice cream in a cone rather than in a cup

 

In Grocery Stores/Markets:

• Say no to plastic grocery bags, and use your own reusable bags
• Use reusable mesh produce bags
• Buy bulk to avoid as much packaging as possible
• Choose items that have less/no packaging

 

In Your Home:

• Use soap bars instead of body wash
• Repurpose jars and other food containers
• Trade out your coffee pods for filtered, dripped, or pressed coffee
• Make your own cleaning products to avoid buying plastic cleaning bottles (e.g. Mixing diluted vinegar with essential oils)
• Ditch plastic wrap and plastic baggies for reusable containers
• Save unavoidable plastic packaging (e.g. egg containers, plastic jars, etc.) for others who may use it – Know of any kids who would love arts and crafts supplies? Know a teacher who would use the items in his/her classroom?
• Make your own snacks from scratch to avoid individually packaged items (e.g. chia-seed pudding to avoid pudding cups; date protein bars in replace of pre-packaged protein bars)

Other Great Ideas:

• Pack your lunch in reusable containers rather than getting takeout
• Find restaurants and cafes that allow you to bring your own container for your takeout, to avoid one-time-use containers
• Carry and use reusable water bottles, coffee thermos’, and shaker cups

 

 

Some of the above great ideas were found from:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/gyanyankovich/trash-recycling-zero-waste-plastic-free?utm_term=.al9JNoNp0#.ggyNnPn1R

http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/news/how-to-cut-down-plastic-usage

December update. What’s going on?

Since our first Precious Plastic Da Nang meeting in October, we have been busy! Here’s what we’ve been up to:

• Our Facebook page is growing! Make sure you “like” and share it.
• www.preciousplasticdanang.com Our website is live! Check it out, we also have a blog (where you are right now) and you can submit your ideas for posts. Make sure to sign up for our email list too!
• Social media! We are everywhere! Follow us on IG @preciousplastic_danang and on twitter at @preciousdanang and soon on our Youtube channel
• We had a successful fundraising event at the November Healthy Farm Farmers Market. We are so grateful for everyone who stopped by, donated and signed up for our email list. A huge thanks to our volunteers who helped us with this event.
• We made our first contacts to start building our recycling machines. We’ve also met many enthusiastic new members at our public meetings who have shared great ideas with us! Thank you for your contribution and we hope to meet many more of you soon.

So what do we have planned for December?

• We are in the beginning stages of creating English and French lessons on the topic of recycling that we will soon be able to share with the community
• We are in the process of registering as a French Non-Profit Organization
• We are also looking for Vietnamese volunteers to help us make educational videos for expats to refuse plastic in their daily life. When finished we will post these on our Youtube channel.
• We are making our shopping list for the first machine we are going to build! Pictures of the materials soon on our Instagram page
• We have weekly meetings every Monday at Studio 13 Cafe. Feel free to join us to share ideas, discuss recycling, sustainability and what you can do to help

See you soon!

Alyona’s bio

Hello, I’m Alyona. I grew up in Ukraine, which is a beautiful country with lots of natural resources and sights. I have always been keen on educating myself on various topics. For instance, when I was 20 years old I read lots of articles, books and watched documentaries about factory farming and horrible conditions in which they keep animals. After learning all this information I decided the least I could do to reduce my impact on the environment was to eat vegetarian (and eventually I shifted to a vegan diet).

I have always wanted to travel and discover different countries, learn new languages and meet people. After graduating from university I went to work on a cruise ship, which sailed the Caribbean Sea. During that time I saw so many beautiful islands, with their stunning nature, pristine beaches and rich fauna. During my work at sea I was conscious of huge cruise ships destroying environment, which cause coral reef damage, air pollution, marine life death due to plastic disposal, and other inevitable destruction. Although I felt that 8 months on a ship was enough for me, I am grateful for the challenging experience that I learned and grew a lot from.

When I went back home I looked for job opportunities in South-East Asia, in hopes of finding one in China so that I could improve my Mandarin that I had learned at university. At that time in 2013, however, I couldn’t find any job possibilities in China. At some point I came across an opportunity to teach English in Vietnam. After passing the interview a few months later, I found myself arriving in Vietnam. First, I lived in a rural area of Central Vietnam in the province of Quảng Bình. I lived close to the beach which was surrounded by beautiful mountains. I was the only foreigner there, so people would usually greet me at the streets with a smile. I came to appreciate how hospitable, open and welcoming people were. At the same time, however, I didn’t have many friends there so I came to want to move to a bigger city. After a few months, I arrived in Hanoi. It’s an old and nice city but quite hectic and noisy. While there, I made many friends who became my family.

After 3 years living in Hanoi, I felt an urge to move to a smaller city with a beach, as well as more nature. It was then that I decided to relocate to Da Nang, which I had visited a few times before and really liked. I came to love this amazing city and its people, and set out to be more socially active and give back to society. I’m an empath and I love taking care of and helping people, so together with my friend, we decided to visit homes of the elderly. We usually go monthly to take clothes and food donations. Most of the people there don’t have families, so it’s our pleasure to spend time with them and see their smiles.

One day I saw a Facebook post about Precious Plastic and watched the video by Dave Hakkens. It really caught my attention and I instantly believed it was a needed project here in Da Nang. I met with the guys and came to see how they too were very passionate about the project; it was our dedication and willingness to make a change that brought us together. I’m happy to be part of the team and hope we can get more recycling enthusiasts on board with us.

Alyona

Haylie’s Bio

Hello, All!

I am Haylie. A small-town, red-headed kindergarten teacher from northern British Columbia, Canada. In February 2017, my husband and I up and moved to Southern Thailand after needing a change in our day-to-day life routines. When you need a change, why not up and move to a country you’ve never travelled to before?! While in Thailand we had the chance to spend three weeks in Vietnam while my husband helped cover one of his company’s wind farms. During our stay, we fell in love with the local people and knew we’d be back…but never did we imagine that our opportunity would come so soon after. Four months later we found ourselves back in Vietnam, but for long-term this time. When you adore a country, why not up and move to yet another city that you’ve never travelled to before?! It has now been three months that we’ve been in Da Nang, and we have enjoyed every minute of it.

It wasn’t until we made the move overseas that the trash problem I had only heard and read about became evidently clear. I realized how difficult something as simple as a trashcan was to find in Thailand and Vietnam (let alone recycling bins). As a teacher, I have always believed in the importance of educating children, starting from a very early age, about ways to take care of our planet earth. Today’s children are our future, and it is the younger generations who are in need of a healthy planet so they can live long, healthy lives. However, even with this strong belief, I never once thought about how easy it is to reinforce these positive behaviours in Canada compared to other parts of the world. After some pondering on my own, and some discussions with local and foreign individuals, I recognized that similar to the kidlets in my classroom, the local people of these countries (children and adults alike) needed some education around the topic. I came to understand that a good majority of the population hasn’t been shown alternatives to things like accepting a plastic bag, buying a one-time-use water bottle, or where to put their trash. I also learned that many local people in both Thailand and Vietnam don’t like that there is garbage everywhere, and they shake their heads at it, but they don’t know how to go about making the much-needed change.

After not knowing what I wanted to do while we were living abroad aside from running my personal blog—To teach or not to teach? Teach in the classroom or online?—my “aha moment” had finally arrived. While still in Thailand, I searched for an already-existing environmental group that I could jump on board with. Where we were living at the time—it is known as a country town and doesn’t have many expats—I unfortunately found this to be quite challenging. My goal was then to take some time to meet some people and make some connections, and then start up my own group that could help clean up the trash and educate the locals simultaneously. Well, fast forward a few months later and my husband and I were landing in Da Nang, a place that has less visible trash but the same overall problem—trash pollution, and more specifically, plastic pollution.

Shortly after being here, while amidst my new search to find an environmental group to join, I came across a Facebook post about something called Precious Plastic. Once I saw the videos by Dave Hakkens, I was instantly hooked! I went to the first meeting that Kevin set up, heard his spiel about his goals for bringing Precious Plastic to Da Nang, and as they say, the rest is history.

Kevin, Kira, Alyona and myself are now a strong team of four very dedicated individuals, from all different parts of the world, who are so excited to be working on a solution to the plastic problem here in Da Nang while educating the local people at the same time. I couldn’t be happier with our team and what we have planned for Precious Plastic Da Nang. Stay tuned to learn exactly what those big plans entail.

Happy Recycling!

Haylie 🙂