Hundreds of ‘green warriors’ commended for their service to society

The event took place at Mipec Palace in Hanoi’s Dong Da district on October 19, and attracted around 50 delegates from Hanoi's Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam Women’s Union, Hanoi Women’s Union, local management agencies, and international organisations.

VietCycle Corporation, a pioneering business in the establishment of a circular waste ecosystem in Vietnam, has made enormous efforts to build an extensive plastic waste collection system employing over 3,000 workers throughout the country.

At the ceremony, the Organising Committee commended and presented meaningful gifts to the 300 female ‘green warriors’ to express their gratitude.

VietCycle and Unilever wished to honour the informal waste collection workers – the women who work in collecting plastic waste across the country - as they play an important role in waste treatment. Their contributions, however, have been underestimated, and they have not yet been recognised as a key force in environmental protection.

Do Duc Thanh, deputy director general of the Solid Waste Management Department under Hanoi's Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said, “I am particularly impressed with the contribution made by the ‘green warriors’ to a cleaner Vietnam and to keeping Hanoi green, clean and beautiful”

"Although the current system of household waste management has achieved positive results, there are still many shortcomings, such as the low waste collection rate in some rural areas, while recycling processes also need to be improved," Thanh added.

Hoang Duc Vuong, chairman of VietCycle, also expressed his gratitude to the thousands of informal female workers in VietCycle's network, who account for nearly 90 per cent of its 'Plastic Reborn' project, which tackles plastic waste sustainably with sponsorship from Unilever.

“These are the first steps of constituting a solid foundation for informal bloc linkage. VietCycle is focusing on developing this solid foundation because this is a critical resource that not every country has. The women sitting here today are invaluable and are the driving force for propelling the transformation of the recycling industry,” said Vuong.

Some of the 'green warriors’ spoke about the hardships and frustrations of their profession and voiced their aspirations, while thanking the state management bodies and the Organising Committee for organising such a meaningful event to honour and recognise their contributions to environmental protection.

Also at the event, delegates from ALBA Asia and Unilever discussed lessons learned and proposed mechanisms to strengthen support for the workers through increased access to social services and promoting empowerment for informal workers

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