Hue City achieves 5-year progress after TVA Project

On May 23, the People’s Committee of Hue City, in coordination with the World Wide Fund for Nature in Viet Nam (WWF-Viet Nam), organized a workshop to review the 2021-2026 phase of the project “Hue - Plastic Smart City in Central Viet Nam” (TVA Project).

Speaking at the event, Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Director General of the International Cooperation Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), emphasized that in the face of plastic pollution challenges, Hue has chosen to become a pioneer, gradually shaping a plastic-reduction urban model with a distinct identity, harmonizing heritage conservation, green development, and improved quality of life for its residents.

"The project may conclude in terms of its timeline, but the values it has created will continue to spread. I believe that Hue today is not only a ‘pioneering plastic-reducing city in Central Viet Nam,’ but is also gradually becoming an inspiring model for many other localities across the country in the transition toward a green, circular, and low-emission development model," he said.

The TVA Project was launched in 2021 with funding from the people of Norway through WWF-Norway and WWF-Viet Nam, and implemented by the Hue City People’s Committee. The project aims to support the city in protecting rivers, wetlands, and coastal ecosystems from plastic waste pollution, while working toward making Hue a model plastic-smart city in Central Viet Nam.

According to initial research by WWF-Viet Nam, in 2021 Hue City generated more than 400 tons of household waste per day, including over 60 tons of plastic waste. Waste separation at source had not been implemented in a synchronized manner, causing many types of waste to be mixed together and placing significant pressure on collection, treatment systems, and the natural environment.

After five years of implementation, the TVA Project has achieved notable results, including contributing to a reduction of 933.6 tons of plastic waste leaked into the natural environment. The solid waste separation-at-source program has been rolled out across 100% of the city, helping to establish waste-sorting habits within the community. The project also provided equipment and infrastructure for waste collection, such as compactor trucks, storage bins, and improved post-separation collection solutions. The total in-kind funding of the project reached more than VND 26 billion.

Through source waste separation programs and intervention activities, more than 750 tons of organic waste have been collected and converted into compost, while over 4,401 tons of waste including nearly 823 tons of plastic waste, have been collected from water catchment areas.

In the education sector, the "Plastic-free schools" model has been implemented in 190 schools, helping spread green living messages to hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, and parents.

The project has also strongly promoted a plastic-reduction tourism model, with hundreds of tourism and service businesses committing to reducing plastic use, while developing and implementing plastic-smart tours and community-based tourism destinations. A system of bus shelters combined with free drinking water stations has also been introduced to encourage residents and visitors to reduce single-use plastics.

In addition, the project supported the establishment and livelihood improvement of three scrap-collecting cooperatives (32 members in total), and provided occupational safety and fire prevention equipment for 52 recycling facilities in Hue City.

$1 = VND 26,390 (source: Vietcombank).