A poster at Co To market calling on shoppers to use hand baskets or environmentally friendly bags.

Co To Market is the busiest trading center on the island with many ships arriving each day. Seafood is brought to the market with other goods transported from the mainland.

Most notably, island traders don’t use nylon bags anymore but environmentally friendly bio bags as a way to responsibly treat the environment.

“Non-biodegradable bags are no longer used at the market. Although this new kind of bag is more expensive, 1.8 USD a kilo, than plastic bags, we find it convenient and more importantly, it is not harmful to the environment,” said a local woman, adding, “On the island, everyone uses hand baskets while doing shopping, which is very convenient, tidy, and clean to store things.”

Local accommodation facilities and restaurants have all put into use separate compartment trash bins for organic and inorganic waste, helping visitors conveniently sort their used items. Trash bins have also been installed at beaches, markets, and wharves to prevent people and tourists from throwing trash directly into the sea.

Prior to their departure for Co To, tourists are told not to bring plastic bottles or single-use nylon bags to the island.

Co To Island District has deployed multiple efficient models including “School Waste,” and “Turning Trash Into Money.” Prior to their departure for Co To from Ao Sen International Port in Van Don district, tourists are told not to bring plastic bottles or single-use nylon bags to the island.

According to Le Minh Nguyet, a tourist from Hanoi, this is a very good and civilized policy of Co To, demonstrating the local government’s initiative in environmental protection and offering tourists opportunities to demonstrate their responsibility for keeping the environment clean, green and beautiful.

Nguyen Viet Dung, Secretary of the District Party Committee and Chairman of the Co To People’s Committee, said that Co To’s approach in keeping the environment free from plastic waste and single-use plastic items has spread to many other localities across Quang Ninh Province and other islands of Vietnam.

“We have recently signed a cooperation agreement to share our experience with the offshore islands of Con Co, Bach Long Vy, and Ly Son. To date, the awareness, habits and behavior of Co To islanders have changed greatly. We believe that if Co To is truly clean, truly green, and the sea is protected, it will attract more and more tourists in the years to come,” said Dung.

The effort of Co To’s government and people are making the island district cleaner and helped it become an attractive destination while spreading love of the environment and responsible living with nature to tourists.