Young Vietnamese turn packaging waste into memory journals

Creative approach to transform trash into treasured memories

Sitting at a corner table in his regular coffee shop, Diep Hung Vuong carefully sorts through cleaned food wrappers and packaging as he plans the next page of his ‘junk journal,’ this one dedicated to the cafés he visited during the week.

Each paper coffee sleeve or label he pastes into the journal carries a story, Vuong said, whether it recalls an impromptu coffee date with friends, an afternoon spent discovering a newly opened café, or escaping Ho Chi Minh City’s heat with an iced drink at a sidewalk coffee stall.

“Every time I finish a new page, it feels like I’m sitting down with myself again, piecing together all the little moments that I want to keep just for me,” he said.

Vuong previously worked as an editor for a construction company, where he found the repetitive routine left little room for creativity.

Looking for a hobby that could offer an artistic outlet and help him unwind, Vuong came across videos online showcasing ‘junk journal,’ a trend that has gained popularity on social media abroad.

The craft involves creating handmade journals or scrapbooks using leftover items such as food wrappers, tickets, receipts, and sticker labels to document everyday memories.

The concept quickly caught his attention because it combined creativity with personal storytelling, he said, every wrapper or label preserving a memory uniquely meaningful to its owner.

The idea became reality after he bought a hamburger for lunch at work and noticed its wrapper, decorated with a UFO illustration.

“I thought, this is probably the moment to start journaling,” he recalled.

His first journal page brought together three keepsakes: the hamburger wrapper, a sticker from a coffee shop, and a tiny rainbow decoration gifted to him by a new friend.

“Those little moments of good fortune came together and gave me the push to begin,” he said.

Since then, Vuong has followed one personal rule: every wrapper, label, or receipt in his journal must come from his own experiences, not from someone else’s discarded items.

“Junk journaling doesn’t require elaborate ideas,” Vuong said.

“Every page reflects how I lived and what appealed to me at that point in time.

“Looking back, I can remember exactly how those moments unfolded. More importantly, it reminds me to reduce the amount of waste I throw away. That’s the real meaning of the journal.”

Turning everyday waste into shared inspiration

“At first I just thought it looked interesting, so I kept watching and ended up clicking on more videos,” said Le Hoang Thao Ngan, a student from Can Tho University in Can Tho City, recalling how she came across Vuong’s social media posts introducing junk journaling.

“The more I watched, the more I related to it because I’ve always hated throwing away beautiful packaging.”

Inspired by the videos, Ngan began using a notebook she had received as a gift but had never found a use for.

She filled its pages with candy wrappers, tea boxes, cosmetic packaging, and other discarded items, arranging them by mood, color, or memories from a particular outing.

“Some pages are designed like menus, recording dishes I’ve tried,” she said.

“Others remind me of going to the movies or the first gift I ever received. Sometimes the packaging is just too cute to throw away.”

Her recycled journal has become more than a collection of personal memories, she said, preserving keepsakes from friends and family alongside milestones from her own life.

The hobby has also attracted people beyond younger generations.

After finishing household chores and putting her children to bed, Tran Thi Quynh Anh, 35, from Hai Phong City, sets aside rare moments of quiet to make her own junk journals.

A former office worker, Quynh Anh said the demands of balancing work and family had taken a toll on her mental well-being, prompting her to look for a relaxing hobby.

She discovered junk journaling through social media in July 2025 and initially treated it as a casual pastime.

“The more I did it, the more I enjoyed it,” she said. “Now I spend a little time on it almost every day.”

The hobby has also changed the way she consumes everyday products.

“I used to throw away packaging as soon as I finished eating,” Quynh Anh said.

"Now, if it's beautiful, I keep it. I’ve realized that many things we think of as trash can still tell our own stories.”

She said the habit has also made her more conscious of reducing waste and avoiding unnecessary consumption.

Her journals are made from everyday waste items, including candy wrappers, her children’s medicine boxes, bubble tea cup sleeves, and restaurant flyers.

The first page she created featured only a food advertisement leaflet, but she has since filled four journal books, each reflecting a different stage of her life.

“When people begin to see value in what they once considered trash and find ways to reuse it, they’re already helping protect the environment,” she said.

Vuong said his hobby has gradually won over people around him.

Friends who once found it unusual now began collecting eye-catching wrappers and labels they thought would fit his journals.

At bookstores, they also tease him not to tear packaging off the merchandise just because it looks appealing.

“They’ve gotten used to it,” Vuong said.

“Now they understand it’s a hobby that preserves memories while encouraging people to waste less.”

Even the owner of a neighborhood convenience store was initially puzzled by his habit of collecting used food packaging, Vuong said.

After he explained that he turned the materials into journals documenting personal memories, she began setting aside attractive wrappers and labels for him whenever they came across her shop.

“Now she keeps them for me until I stop by,” he said.