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| Model of collecting, classifying and treating plastic waste at source in Xuan Quang 2 commune, Dong Xuan district. Photo: ANH NGOC |
Contribute to reducing plastic waste
According to the Green Development Support Center (GreenHub), the informal industry of collecting scrap metal and scrap metal plays a very important role in reducing the amount of solid waste that needs to be treated, especially plastic waste. However, this force is mainly women (accounting for more than 90%). Although this is hard work, working conditions are still backward, lacking labor protection, mainly done by hand, with rudimentary labor tools, social welfare, health insurance... have not received due attention. These workers also often face prejudice or discrimination when working with waste...
Ms. Vo Thi Yen in Hoa An commune (Phu Hoa district), a person with many years of experience in collecting scrap, shared: My family only does agriculture , I do not have a stable job, so I have been collecting scrap for about 10 years now. This profession is mostly women and often freelance workers, in addition to collecting scrap, they also have to do many other jobs to earn extra income. To do this job, the means of transport is only an old bicycle, a few bags of garbage tied to the saddle and a scale. The scrap collection profession has to endure a lot of hardship and fatigue, sometimes encountering contempt from people around. The journey to buy scrap sometimes starts at dawn and ends late at night.
Ms. Yen added that many people think that the job of collecting scrap metal only requires hard work to earn money, but in reality, there are many hardships and dangers that people in this profession have to go through. To earn money, scrap metal collectors have to continuously travel long distances despite the hot weather. On rainy days, some scrap paper and cardboard that have been transported on the road get wet and have to be dried, which is a painstaking task...
Ms. Truong Thi Tam in Hoa Hiep Bac Ward (Dong Hoa Town) said: In the past, I always felt inferior and did not dare to say what I did when people asked about my profession. Recently, I have participated in many training courses and been equipped with knowledge about occupational safety. Now I know how to protect my health while working. Through these training courses, I feel that my work also contributes to protecting the environment and I am more confident while working. Our wish is that the Women's Club for collecting recycled waste to protect the environment in the locality will develop stably, and the State will have more support policies to make the women's lives more stable.
Ms. Nguyen Bao Han, coordinator of GreenHub informed: GreenHub coordinates with many departments and branches of the province to mobilize and call on many organizations, sponsors, partners, and domestic and foreign experts to come to Phu Yen to join hands to implement a number of issues related to waste and the environment. Collection of recyclable waste and the goal of improving the quality and efficiency of waste collection, including systematizing the informal waste collection network, is one of the tasks of the work package "Enhancing the capacity and cooperation of non-public waste collection women's groups in Phu Yen" which has been implemented since 2024.
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| Survey by the Department of Agriculture and Environment on informal female waste collectors in Phu Yen. Graphics: ANH NGOC |
Turn waste into resources
Plastic waste is a problem that some localities are facing, including Phu Yen. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment , it is estimated that each year in Vietnam, about 1.8 million tons of plastic waste are discharged into the environment, but only about 27% is collected for recycling. Waste is one of the main causes of environmental pollution, especially the hot issue of "white pollution" due to plastic waste...
According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the generation of solid waste, especially plastic waste, has caused negative impacts on the landscape, environment and ecosystem, leading to negative impacts on socio-economic development. To collect and treat plastic waste effectively, in addition to the official waste collection force, there is also a large force of informal waste collectors. In Phu Yen, this informal waste collection force currently has about 1,300 people, of which more than 90% are women. This is one of the important forces and factors to develop waste classification at source, especially to combat plastic waste pollution.
According to the plan to reduce the use of non-degradable plastic bags and disposable plastic products in the province in the period of 2024-2030, the goal is that by the end of 2030, the community in the province must basically classify and reduce waste at the source through recycling and reusing waste after classification and proactively refuse to use disposable plastic products and non-degradable plastic bags in consumption, production and business.
Mr. Huynh Huy Viet, Head of General Department - Environmental Impact Assessment, Department of Environmental Protection and Sea and Islands
Ms. Tran Thi Binh, Vice President of the Provincial Women's Union, said that in waste management in general, and plastic waste management in particular, women play an extremely important role. They are the ones who directly sort waste at home and many are the main force participating in scrap collection activities, thereby contributing significantly to reducing the loss and leakage of plastic waste into the environment. However, those who work in scrap collection are not recognized by society as a legitimate profession, the working hours for collecting scrap are not regulated, and income is low and unstable.
Ms. Nguyen Bao Han, GreenHub coordinator, said: The work package Strengthening the capacity and cooperation of women non-public waste collectors in Phu Yen aims to improve the income and well-being of women non-public waste collectors by strengthening and diversifying their current activities with new skills, partnerships, support networks and connections. This work package also aims to improve skills, expand networks and build partnerships for women non-public waste collectors. At the same time, strengthen capacity in effective waste collection, financial management and ensuring occupational safety through training activities, experience exchange between groups and policy dialogue.
Mr. Huynh Huy Viet, Head of the General Department - Environmental Impact Assessment, Department of Environmental Protection and Seas and Islands (Department of Agriculture and Environment) said: In recent times, many domestic and foreign environmental protection organizations have accompanied Phu Yen in implementing many projects and models for collecting and treating waste, especially plastic waste and recyclable waste. These organizations also coordinated with the province to implement many direct and indirect support policies, helping informal waste collectors participate in networks, linking together to improve the efficiency of collection activities, increase income, and contribute to improving life. In addition, environmental protection projects and models also communicate to the community about waste classification at source, preventing plastic waste pollution, mobilizing the community to join hands to protect the environment, connecting potential markets to increase waste recycling opportunities, with the motto "turning waste into resources".
Source: https://baophuyen.vn/xa-hoi/202506/nang-cao-hieu-qua-thu-gom-xu-ly-rac-tai-che-53f16f4/
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