Eco-Schools: A new step forward in tackling plastic waste

From "Green – Clean – Beautiful” concept to eco-behavioral eduction

At the workshop “Connecting, Training, and Sharing Experiences on ASEAN Eco-Schools - Plastic-Free Schools” held in Can Tho on the morning of October 8, Professor Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc affirmed that the Eco-School model goes beyond the “Green - Clean - Beautiful” concept, aiming to nurture ecological awareness and inspire students to take real action against plastic pollution.

“When millions of students change their behaviour, the positive impact will ripple across society”, she said.

Asia currently accounts for more than 50% of global plastic waste, posing severe threats to ecosystems and human health. Ironically, schools, often considered the “greenest” spaces, generate significant plastic waste from food packaging, plastic bottles, and single-use stationery. From this reality, Professor Cuc posed a powerful question that also served as a call to action for educators:

“Do we want our students to be victims of environmental pollution, or part of the solution?”

According to her, students are the most receptive and capable of maintaining positive habits over time. When they act as “environmental ambassadors,” their influence spreads naturally to families, neighbourhoods, and communities. From simple actions like sorting waste and recycling bottles into creative products to behavioural nudges such as games or reminders about proper disposal, these efforts cultivate a “plastic-free culture” within schools.

While the traditional “Green - Clean - Beautiful” movement focuses mainly on appearances, cleanliness and landscapes, the Eco-School model represents a comprehensive upgrade. It promotes behavioural change, measurable impact, and the integration of learning with action and evaluation. Environmental education is woven into classroom lessons and extracurricular activities. Each school can build its own “eco-profile,” tracking monthly reductions in plastic waste and publicly reporting progress.

Three pillars for plastic-free schools

Professor Cuc called on teachers to integrate at least one environmental activity into their lessons each month, school leaders to establish green policies and monitoring systems, and student teams to implement hands-on environmental projects.

To ensure the model’s effectiveness, she identified three key pillars: Behavioural and technological innovation, community connection, and monitoring and research. Behavioural and technological initiatives include recycling campaigns and gamified apps that encourage waste collection. Community connection involves engaging parents and environmentally responsible businesses, helping students understand sustainable value chains “from farm to table”. The research pillar encourages schools to form environmental clubs and use “dashboard” tools to track reductions in plastic use, integrating environmental content into student-led science projects.

These measures transform environmental protection from mere advocacy into experiential learning, helping students develop teamwork, critical thinking, and a sense of global citizenship.

Professor Cuc emphasised that the most effective environmental education comes from experiential, behaviour-based approaches. She urged schools to build a plastic-free culture into every activity, leveraging the energy and influence of young people to improve learning environments, public health, and community engagement.

“Eco-Schools are not just a title”, she concluded. “They are a sustainable foundation for combating plastic waste, turning every student into a true environmental ambassador. When all 26 million Vietnamese students change their habits, the ripple effect will transform society”.

As climate change and environmental degradation intensify into global challenges, the search for sustainable education models has grown crucial. One initiative widely recognized by the international community is the Eco-Schools Program. Eco-Schools implements a seven-step methodology that includes: establishing a school-based coordination committee, conducting an environmental review, drafting an action plan, integrating content into the curriculum, and monitoring and evaluating results.

The Vietnamese Government's adoption of the National Program of Action on Climate Change to 2050 (NPAP) has brought a new level of significance to the expansion of Eco-Schools in Vietnam. This comprehensive strategy emphasizes the importance of education, community capacity-building, and awareness-raising in tackling climate change.

Schools are invited to submit applications for the ASEAN Eco-School Vietnam Awards 2025 via:

Paper copy: Vietnam Agriculture and Environment Newspaper, Lot E2, Duong Dinh Nghe Street, Hanoi.

Online submission: compress into a single file and upload to www.Ecoschool.vn