Eco-market: a dream once unfinished now takes shape

Hàn Market has long been a familiar spot for tourists as well as local residents. A place always bustling with buyers and sellers, the shape of traditional Hàn Market has perhaps long been imprinted in the minds of the people of Đà Thành (Đà Nẵng). For that very reason, concern for the environment had not been focused on as much as the daily trading activities, and so there had not yet been much specific action or impact on reducing plastic waste. However, as quality of life develops, the Hàn Market Management Board has begun to be ready for change, increasingly prioritizing activities and awareness-communication work directed at the traders and visitors. And that too was a beginning for a dream – the dream of a model of an environmentally friendly market that would be implemented at scale and methodically.

Hàn Market officially became the first market in Đà Nẵng to pilot the set of eco-stall criteria. The Market Management Board joined hands with the LSPP project implementation group to act step by step toward a future in which sustainability and consumer welfare would take center stage. With a determination to make a difference, Hàn Market set itself the mission of becoming the first eco-market, together with support from the various parties.

In the effort to solve the pressing problem of plastic waste that had long accumulated, Hàn Market very enthusiastically pioneered the piloting of eco-stalls. It can be said that, thanks to this pioneering spirit and action, under Plan No. 2224/KH-SCT dated 09/9/2021 implementing the Hàn Market model to reduce plastic waste for the 2021-2025 period with the support of USAID within the LSPP project, the plastic-reducing Hàn Market model was carried out in coordination by the Department of Industry and Trade, the Đà Nẵng Market Management and Development Company, the Hàn Market Management Board, GreenHub, WWF and the traders. This is the first model in Đà Nẵng to officially build a set of eco-stall criteria for a market. Through the coordination of the relevant parties, a work plan was built and implemented.

The results of the model included decorating 18 stalls participating in the model; 01 session introducing the mechanism for collecting, sorting and reusing nylon bags; and 01 session exchanging with the traders on carrying out the activities within the pilot model.

In particular, from the results achieved by the pilot model, on 12/4/2023 the Department of Industry and Trade of Đà Nẵng City issued Official Letter No. 792/SCT-QLCN guiding the pilot criteria and the sequence for assessing and recognizing eco-stalls at Hàn Market.

Accompanying Hàn Market from that time, both the project group and the Management Board recognized that the context of the Hàn Market traders was mainly focused on trading activities, and that concern for reducing plastic waste was still limited. Faced with the challenge of changing for the better, the Department of Industry and Trade, the Đà Nẵng Market Management and Development Company, the Hàn Market Management Board, GreenHub and WWF carried out a strategy of awareness communication and encouraging traders to apply the eco-stall criteria, encouraging and actively supporting stalls registering to take part in the pilot. Although the eco-stall is a new criterion, from the locality to the Management Board and the project implementation group, everyone always strives to communicate it, integrating it into many activities in order to come closer to each trader — because we all believe that the eco-stall carries meaning not only in recognizing a green stall that reduces plastic waste, but also in recognizing a supply source that is safe for health and the environment; the presence of the eco-label promises to become a symbol of a supplier's commitment to sustainability and environmental awareness, the pilot being the Hàn Market traders.

The impact of these small but meaningful actions changes not only the aesthetics within the market for the better but also the surrounding environment, where the traditional market is becoming cleaner and more full of life each day. By actively promoting the reuse of plastic bags, Hàn Market is creating a clear difference in reducing plastic waste and promoting responsible consumption activities.

A new movement always needs someone to lead the way; the relevant parties, among them the LSPP project group, on this journey — we have seen the raw material for the turning point of change, formed precisely from the dedication of the locality.

On the journey of transforming into an eco-market, Hàn Market had 04 Clean Nylon Bag Collection–Reuse Houses installed. The used “Clean Nylon Bag Collection–Reuse House” collects bags from the community in the area of Hải Châu I Ward (the house is modeled after the architecture of the “nhà Chồ” stilt houses — a memory of old Đà Nẵng) and is installed in the Hàn Market area, with the purpose of reusing intact nylon bags so that traders and consumers coming to the market can take and use them when needed, thereby reducing the amount of nylon bags emitted into the environment. To ensure the nylon bags can be reused, traders, tourists or residents always need to choose bags that have been cleaned and dried or that remain intact.

These houses are carried out in coordination by the Youth Union of Hải Châu I Ward and the Youth Union of the Đà Nẵng Market Management and Development Company; thanks to the presence of these Nylon Bag Collection–Reuse Houses, traders, residents and tourists can share and reuse nylon bags with one another regularly, extending the lifespan of used nylon bags. To make the movement more influential, the Ward Youth Union also launched a nylon-bag collection movement with all the union youth members and residential communities in Hải Châu I Ward, with the aim of calling for a small action but with truly great feeling — not only for the market but also for the environment around the market to become ever cleaner and more beautiful. After being received, the nylon bags are gathered and sorted by the union members and placed into the Clean Bag Supply Cabinets. The bags are sorted by size: small bags (2kg or under), medium bags (3-10kg), large bags (over 10kg). Twice a month the bags are placed at Hàn Market by the youth union members of Hải Châu I Ward, contributing to forming the habit of reusing nylon bags among the traders and customers at the market.

The impact of these meaningful periodic activities changes not only the aesthetics within the market for the better but also the surrounding environment, where the traditional market is becoming cleaner and more full of life each day. By actively promoting the reuse of plastic bags, Hàn Market — together with the efforts of the local forces — is step by step creating a clear difference in reducing plastic waste and promoting responsible consumption activities, through a diverse range of activities from communication to interaction in order to mobilize the participation of residents in the area in general and the traders and tourists of Hàn Market in particular.

This is because the participation of residents and traders is also an important contribution, both in tangible contribution and in nurturing a collective spirit. Real transformation requires the whole community to come closer together, share a common vision, and actively participate in building and maintaining a model that prioritizes long-term sustainability.

Hàn Market serves as a reminder that change is not the effort of an individual but the effort of a collective. It can be said that Hàn Market has become a symbol of solidarity, where the spirit of cooperation and shared responsibility flourishes. It is precisely thanks to this collective awareness that the project group believes Hàn Market will continue to inspire and motivate — not only the neighboring area but also communities far away — to carry out sustainable activities and create a positive impact on the environment.