New Year’s Eve fireworks watchers leave behind mountain of trash

Thousands of people gathered in the Hoan Kiem Lake area for the countdown to the Year of the Pig and to enjoy the fireworks display.

But when everyone was gone, the streets were strewn with papers and plastic bags.

The Hanoi Post Office is a mess, littered with garbage, leftover food and raincoats.

Newspapers and cardboard boxes were used to sit on during the fireworks display, but no one picked them up when the party ended.

Children tripped over cardboard boxes while playing on the sidewalk.

Piles of garbage could be seen on Ly Thai To and Hang Khay Streets.

The dustbins in the streets were not enough for this kind of an assault.

At 1:30 a.m. the sanitation workers began to clean up the mess left by the fireworks watchers.