Waste can become a valuable resource when it is properly sorted and managed. This is the message at the heart of the “Waste Reduction Community Market”, an initiative led by Hoi An Eco Hub, a member of the Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance (VZWA), to promote sustainable waste management and circular living within the local community.

Held every Saturday morning in Hội An, the market invites residents and visitors to bring sorted waste—including organic waste, plastic bottles, metal cans, and used books or newspapers, in exchange for locally grown produce, handmade food products, and environmentally friendly goods.

More than a simple barter market, the initiative serves as a hands-on environmental education space where participants can learn practical skills such as waste segregation at source, composting organic waste, making natural cleaning products, and raising earthworms to process food scraps. These activities help people recognize the hidden value of materials often discarded as waste and encourage more sustainable consumption and waste management habits.

According to Ms. Vũ Mỹ Hạnh, the market was created to strengthen connections between consumers and local farmers and small-scale producers, while reducing reliance on single-use packaging, supporting green livelihoods, and creating opportunities for the community to learn about sustainable living together.

The market has attracted not only local residents but also international visitors seeking meaningful community-based experiences. By translating the concepts of circular economy and zero waste into practical, everyday actions, the initiative makes sustainability more accessible and relevant to people’s daily lives.

As a member of the Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance, Hoi An Eco Hub demonstrates that the transition toward a zero-waste lifestyle can begin with simple actions: sorting waste at home, reducing single-use packaging, and viewing waste as a resource rather than something to discard. Initiatives such as the Waste Reduction Community Market not only help reduce waste generation but also create environmental, social, and economic benefits for local communities, contributing to the vision of a Zero Waste Vietnam.

Source: Tien Phong newspaper

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