Some 28,000 volunteers and soldiers collected garbage along the country’s coastline on June 19 at the launch of the biggest ever national beach cleanup campaign.

The campaign was officially launched at the Sam Son Beach in the north central Thanh Hoa Province, with 2,000 youths and soldiers picking up litter.

Organised by the HCM Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU) and Vietnam Television (VTV) 24, the three-year campaign in 28 provinces and cities aims to raise public awareness about climate-change adaptation and environmental protection at the country’s beaches.

Pilots for the campaign were conducted in May in the central coastal provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue, producing positive results.

First Secretary of the HCMCYU Central Committee Le Quoc Phong said the campaign was expected to be effective in mobilising communities to collect tonnes of trash along the country’s beaches.

A music festival was also organised on Sam Son beach to urge the community to join the cleanup.

Singer Thu Minh, who was one of nine ambassadors for the global UN Wild for Life campaign, is the campaign’s ambassador. The singer inspired volunteers by sharing her stories about environmental protection.

The campaign has set up a hotline to receive calls about litter dumped on beaches.

Every three months, a music performance will be organised in one of the 28 provinces or cities, with singers performing songs related to environmental protection.

During the pilot, more than 4,800 community volunteers across the country cleaned up beaches along the central coast of Vietnam.

Volunteers cleared at least 7.5 kilometres of beaches in the central region, and gave 4,000 gifts worth 2 billion VND to 4,000 fishermen in financial difficulties.

In addition, recycling bins for different kinds of trash were set up at public beaches in the central region.

VNA