Because this country has a pretty terrible track record as far as waste management is concerned and because they seriously overuse all plastics I've normally been pretty surprised that the beaches here in Da Nang are kept extremely litter free. I always wondered how that is possible because I've never actually seen any people wandering around picking up garbage and other beaches that are quite near here are overrun with garbage, especially plastic.
How do they do it? Is it an environmental policy that should be executed elsewhere in the country or perhaps the world? Unfortunately not. It seems as though Da Nang is just playing a game in keeping the public believing that they have a good environmental policy while at the same time just doing some cleanup und the cover of darkness.
I've heard about the existence of these machines but up until today I've never actually seen one. It is some sort of sand skimmer that will take all the garbage, well if it is large enough, out of the sand and then re-deposit the sand back where it came from.
It looks like a pretty awesome piece of machinery and this is why the beaches here have all that wonderful sand even though I see people openly leave garbage behind, especially at night, on a regular basis.
I suppose this is better than doing nothing but it would be nice if they actually had some public awareness about pollution and the importance of not littering. Even better would be if the people could detach themselves from the rather intense plastic bag addiction that this city and country has in such a serious manner that we have a saying here about how "you are never very far from a plastic bag, not matter where you are in Vietnam."
It probably sounds like I am complaining but I actually commend them for having this piece of equipment here. I know I've been to many other beaches in SE Asia that could certainly use one of these things. Just make sure you keep your hands out of it!