Hang Ma Street covered in rubbish after Full Moon Festival

Volunteers helped collect a large amount of rubbish left on Hang Ma Street, Hanoi, during the Full Moon Festival on the night of September 30.

Hang Ma Street littered with rubbish during the Full Moon Festival

At 10 pm on September 30, Hang Ma Street was flocked with visitors and rubbish. Most of the rubbish littered on the street were plastic bags and cups.

The police in Hang Ma Ward said since the Full Moon Market on Hang Ma Street was opened, they had to constantly remind other people to keep the street clean. However, due to a large number of visitors, the street was still littered. There were rubbish trucks on both ends of the street.

Environment worker cleans up the street

Nguyen Thi Hien, an environment worker, said, "There were thousands of people. If each one threw a bag down then it would be enough to fill this street. We had to do extra shifts until 4 am for the whole week. There are 40 trucks come and go to collect the rubbish there every day. It's terrible."

Many volunteers have come to help. Le Thi Huyen from Hoa Binh Province said she had helped since 5 am.

"My friends and I came after seeing the photos of the streets and the environment workers. We also helped to raise public awareness about the environment too," she said.

Volunteers help cleaning up the street.

Nguyen Kim Dung, a shop owner on Hang Ma Street, said, "Protecting the environment is everyone's concern. A dirty street also causes a bad reputation for Hanoi so I want to help. Seeing the environment workers cleaning up the street until morning saddened me."

Dung went on to say that she hoped that in the future, visitors will be more aware and follow the slogan to leave nothing behind.