In recent years, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) has been widely recognized as an invasive aquatic plant that proliferates rapidly on rivers, canals, ponds, and lakes, obstructing waterway transportation, impeding water flow, and contributing to environmental degradation. Despite its abundance in large river systems such as the Bach Dang River in Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong Province, this biomass resource remains largely underutilized, leading to significant waste of natural materials and ongoing ecological challenges. This study proposes an eco-friendly alternative by transforming water hyacinth into handmade paper sheets with natural coloration, rustic aesthetic, and complete absence of harmful chemicals. The resulting products exhibit acceptable strength and surface quality, making them suitable for practical and decorative applications including coasters, shoe insoles, greeting cards, notebooks, biodegradable packaging, paper bags, and eco-handicraft items. Raw materials were collected directly from the Bach Dang River by a student research group. The research employed a combination of primary and secondary data collection methods, along with experimental, analytical, and synthesis approaches to develop and evaluate the manual paper-making process. The developed chemical-free production method successfully yielded durable paper sheets that are environmentally safe and biodegradable. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of converting an invasive plant into value-added sustainable products, thereby contributing to waste reduction, biomass reuse, and the promotion of green production practices. Although the study is preliminary and limited by manual processing, lack of mechanization, and absence of standardized quantitative testing (e.g., tensile strength, water absorption, and biodegradability under controlled conditions), it provides a promising foundation for further optimization and scale-up. Future research should focus on improving uniformity, enhancing mechanical properties through natural additives, and conducting comprehensive performance and life-cycle assessments to support practical commercialization and broader environmental impact

ABSTRACT Cooking oil is an indispensable ingredient in everyday family cooking. The oil after use is often discharged directly into wastewater systems, leading to risks of environmental pollution, water pollution, clogging of drainage systems... In recent years, water hyacinth plants have been considered weeds, floating on rivers, canals, ponds and lakes, obstructing the circulation of boats and preventing water flow. Water hyacinth plants are often found in large rivers and almost no one cares about their uses, making them truly wasteful. Realizing the flexibility of water hyacinth when dried, it can be woven into pieces with good absorbent properties, our team has researched using water hyacinth as a material to absorb used cooking oil that is discarded into the environment. school. The research uses the main methods of experimental method and sample analysis method in its research. The result is that a product that absorbs discarded cooking oil scum is formed and is tested for cooking oil contaminated water with results consistent with QCVN 14:2008/BTNMT. The purpose of the research is to find effective products to absorb discarded cooking oil to save costs and contribute to environmental protection. The problem of using naturally available materials to create products that absorb cooking oil scum at the same time solves two current environmental problems. The research is a preliminary result, so there are still many shortcomings. We hope that in the future there will be further research to make the product more and more perfect