Recycle plastic waste into shopping baskets

The model of recycling used billboards and posters into shopping bags was successfully implemented by the Women's Union of Con Dao district, contributing to environmental protection and reducing plastic waste.

At the office of the Con Dao District Women's Union, beautiful, colorful plastic bags are neatly stacked in boxes after being collected from sewing sites. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thao, President of the Con Dao District Women's Union, said that after hanging up at events, many billboards and posters are thrown away, causing waste, while they can create useful products that can be applied in daily life.

Since July 2024, when Con Dao district implemented the circular economy project, the Con Dao district Women's Union has registered a model of recycling billboards and posters into market baskets. The union has coordinated with the district's Cultural and Sports Center to collect all used billboards and posters, then clean and dry them. Depending on the model, the workers will measure, draw, cut carefully and then sew them into products. "The union mobilizes women with sewing skills to take advantage of their time to sew more handbags. The union allocates a part of the budget from the circular economy project and mobilizes socialization from individuals and groups to support sewing for women. To date, the union has built 5 green sewing points," said Ms. Thao.

Because the bag is made of thick plastic, sewing it is not easy and requires a skilled worker to do it. The stitches and seams are also meticulous to make the bag durable and aesthetically pleasing. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha (residential area 8) is one of the skilled tailors chosen by the District Women's Union as a "green sewing point". Ms. Ha said: "When cutting and sewing, I often follow each panel and poster to create the most aesthetically pleasing product, thereby each bag produced is not only durable and beautiful, but also continues to carry out the propaganda mission".

In addition to sewing large bags, women also use small pieces to sew water bottle bags and wallets. Ms. Tran Thi Kieu is a seamstress with 8-9 years of experience in Con Dao district. For nearly a year, in addition to sewing clothes, Ms. Kieu has also sewn handbags made from used billboards and posters. "Thanks to the District Women's Union's support, I have more income. I cut and sew at the same time, on average I can sew 10-30 bags a day," Ms. Kieu said.

"Green sewing spot" recycles used billboards and posters into shopping baskets of Ms. Tran Thi Kieu (Con Dao district).

As of mid-March 2025, the Association has organized the sewing of 600 handbags of various types, with a selling price of 25-30 thousand VND/each. “The amount of money collected from this model by the end of March was nearly 16 million VND. We use this money to support female members in difficult circumstances. In addition, the Association also set aside about 200 bags to give away,” Ms. Thao added.

When implementing the model of “Recycling billboards and posters into shopping bags”, the Con Dao District Women’s Union signed a contract with 9 local branches to encourage union officials to use baskets when going to the market, saying no to plastic waste. Since then, women have been exemplary in using recycled billboard bags to go to the market, completely replacing plastic bags.

The above bags, although small in size, carry a big message about environmental protection, implementing a circular economy, contributing to building a green and sustainable Con Dao.

In 2024, the model of "recycling billboards and posters into shopping bags" was voted as a skillful mass mobilization model and received a certificate of merit from the Provincial People's Committee.

Article and photos: QUANG VU

Source: https://baobariavungtau.com.vn/kinh-te/202504/tai-che-rac-thai-nhua-thanh-gio-di-cho-1040429/