Micro-loan program for the informal recycling
sector in ASEAN countries

https://cdnmedia.baotintuc.vn/Upload/c2tvplmdloSDblsn03qN2Q/files/2022/06/17/chat-thai-tai-hanoi-1762022.jpg Creative Commons License■Team name
Etsu Color■Team Introduction
We are a team of 5 master students from Vietnam Japan University. Our university philosophies areliberal arts and sustainability, so we are all trained with research methodologies and informatics forvarious sustainable development issues. From diverse backgrounds, we have skills in project
management, task analysis, information sourcing, knowledge transferring and communication design.
■What goal do you want to achieve
We would like to promote recycling rate and at the same time supporting informal recycling workers
in developing countries in ASEAN through this idea.
Hanoi, the city that all team members are currently residing, generates about 5,500 to 6,000 tons ofdomestic waste daily. 95% of this waste is transported to landfills, with the rest incinerated or recycled

at craft villages. Traditionally, Vietnam has a culture of saving and recycling materials, and in thecountryside, it is still being observed. However, city lives do not permit the space and the time for suchactivity to be done without a proper recycling system. The recycling materials collection and separationis still not done at households level due to lack of regulations.
At the moment, in Hanoi, the domestic waste are to be put outside on the streets at end of working
day hours, and the city waste collectors will gather the waste from across the city with time ranging
between end of working day hours till midnight. Including in these household wastes are recyclable
materials. The garbage pickers or the informal recycling workers then come and take apart the plasticbags with these recyclable materials, and often they would leave the bags open with all other contents
spilling out, affecting the quality of life of everyone else. Without these workers though, almost noneof recycling of domestic waste will be done. This problem is due to the lack of a formal system ofrecycling, the lack of awareness from the garbage pickers, as well as the lack of support from thecommunity, government and other players. Most garbage pickers are actually people with many
disadvantages in their living conditions and chose the job as a necessity to make ends meet.
Similar conditions can be observed in other Vietnamese cities and ASEAN countries, and we would liketo first start with Hanoi and then expand to other locations.
■How will you achieve the goal
Changing attitude and culture of recycling and the recycling system is not a simple task. Many
Government and NGOs’ programs in Vietnam are addressing the problem of recycling; nevertheless,they mostly focus on the consumers and the everyday citizens and not on the garbage pickers. Wewould like to address the problem with proper funding and opportunity to expand the job as a trade
career instead of a stigmatized job.
The micro-loan program will be conducted with requirements for the recycling workers to attend training
regarding the requirements for proper recycling system, the etiquette to keep the city clean, theapplication of new technology to acquire business opportunities and the tools and other access for
additional funding where they can expand their business. The seed money from the program will support
the living conditions of these people and promote the training for better recycling procedures.
Through the program, we want to bridge the knowledge gap for garbage pickers to utilize more modern
technology in their business. Currently, in Ho Chi Minh City, we have an application called VECA which
supports the matching of garbage pickers and people who want to sell recyclable materials. This is oneof the partners that we would really like to collaborate. A smartphone is necessary though for thisusage and not all garbage pickers have the access or even know about the app. The price of aVietnamese made smartphone is actually not large, standing at about 50$ to 100$, which a micro-loan
program like ours can help support.
■What effect is expected after you achieve the goal
Through the micro-loan program, we would like to reach the informal recycling sector first in Hanoi
and then in other cities in Vietnam and other ASEAN countries. The support from the micro-loan
program can help accelerate the recycling system evolution and speed up the change in both thegarbage pickers’ lives and also alter the market place to create strong and resilient recycling
businesses.