Students turn plastic waste into giant sea creature models in Vietnam

The Waste 2 Art competition was organized by Mövenpick Resort Cam Ranh and attracted hundreds of students from across the province.

Through the students’ creativity, the discarded items were transformed into vivid 3D models of sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, whales, and other marine creatures.

Teams used cardboard to build structural frames before covering them with recycled materials and painting them with acrylic paint to complete the artworks.

Some groups used plastic spoons as fish scales, while others cut aluminum cans to create turtle shells or arranged colorful bottle caps to form gradient effects on whale bodies.

While carefully attaching bottle caps to a sea turtle model, Tran Binh An, a seventh-grade student at Quang Trung Middle School in Cam Lam Commune, said the competition changed the way students viewed waste.

“Before, I thought trash was just something to throw away, but when we put the pieces together, we realized they could become beautiful artworks,” An said.

“After finishing the models, we understood clearly that if everyone reduced plastic waste, the ocean would become much cleaner.”

According to the organizers, the competition was designed not only as a creative activity for local students but also as a way to raise awareness about ocean conservation, the impact of plastic waste on marine ecosystems, and teamwork among young people.

After completion, 25 artworks under the theme 'Ocean Guardians' were displayed along walkways and beach areas of the resort throughout the summer as part of an ecological art space promoting environmentally friendly lifestyles to visitors.