A number of plastic waste items are on view at an admission-free exhibition in Hanoi, serving as a stark reminder of just what humans have done to the ocean and marine life.

The highlight of the Réduisons! (Reduce!) exhibition, held by PRX-Vietnam at the Institut Français de Hanoï – L'Espace at 24 Trang Tien Street, Hoan Kiem District from July 15 to August 31, is an art installation made of around 500 kilograms of used plastic items and designed as a giant wave of trash.

This artwork, made of numerous plastic items including bottles, cups, bags, straws and foam boxes that were washed and cleaned, is placed upside down on the ceiling of the exhibit, making visitors feel like they are walking under a sky of trash.

As some parts of the ‘plastic waste sky’ are so low that visitors can even touch them, they also give the impression that people are being engulfed in a sea of trash with no escape routes.

In addition to the giant installation, the organizers also set up several infographic illustrations along the venue to present serious messages about the alarming situation of plastic trash in Vietnam.

Notably, an electronic board displaying the amount of garbage discharged by Hanoi citizens with real-time updates is placed right at the entrance of the exhibition.

PRX-Vietnam is a cooperation office between the People's Committee of Hanoi and the Île-de-France region, with the support of Agence Française de Développement (AFD), focusing on climate, biodiversity, peace, education, urban development, health and governance.

Vietnam is one of Asia’s five worst polluters, and ranked 17th in the world for ocean plastic waste pollution, with 13 million metric tons of waste released to the ocean every year, according to international organizations.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently asked for plans to phase out the use of plastic products in Vietnam with the goal of making the country free of single-use plastics by 2025.

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