Live Green – Live Clean
Post-doctoral researcher at KLU, Dr. Sarah Joseph, recently travelled to Vietnam as part of the Waste in Humanitarian Operations: Reduction and Minimization (WORM) project, aimed at promoting awareness and building support for informal waste pickers. During her visit, Dr. Joseph met with government officials and key stakeholders in the informal waste sector across several regions.
Dr. Joseph also participated in a large-scale community awareness event focused on advancing sustainable livelihoods for informal waste workers and joined a coastal clean-up initiative designed to raise public awareness of environmental protection and strengthen community engagement. As part of the event, one hectare of mangrove trees was planted to help restore the local ecosystem and improve the area's resilience to climate change.
The event, titled “Together with Waste Collectors – Connecting Communities, Protecting the Environment,” was coordinated by the Vietnam Red Cross in collaboration with local authorities. Held in July in Khanh Hoa province, northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, the initiative brought together over 300 participants, including informal waste collectors, Red Cross staff and volunteers, local media representatives, and WORM project partners.
Sustainable livelihoods for informal waste pickers
The day featured a variety of activities, beginning with performances by local artists, followed by a panel discussion titled “Listening to the Voices of Waste Collectors,” and a practical session on identifying, classifying, and safely collecting hazardous waste.
As the project lead researcher from KLU, Dr. Joseph and her team’s work in Vietnam included meetings with government officials in Khanh Hoa and Quảng Nam provinces, as well as Ho Chi Minh City, to discuss current efforts to support informal waste pickers. They also conducted a site visit to a local waste aggregator - an individual who purchases sorted waste from waste pickers - to learn more about their operations and experiences within the informal waste sector.
“Working with the Viet Nam Red Cross and local communities as part of the WORM project has been incredibly rewarding,” remarked Dr. Joseph after the trip. “Through WORM, we are developing policy recommendations to support sustainable livelihoods for informal waste pickers. Meeting with waste pickers, who carry out this vital yet often overlooked work, offered invaluable insights that are shaping a strategy grounded in the lived experiences of those most directly affected.”
Amplifying the voices of those most vulnerable
Dr. Joseph said that while much of the project team’s research is carried out from their desks, “engaging with communities on the ground is essential to ensure our work remains relevant and impactful.”
She added that WORM had the opportunity to share their preliminary findings with local officials in Vietnam and will continue to support the process as they finalize their deliverables. “Our goal is that KLU and WORM is contributing to research that not only informs policy but also amplifies the voices of those most vulnerable,” she said.
Nguyen Vinh Hoa, Deputy Director of External Relations and Communication at the Vietnam Red Cross, meanwhile, remarked: “A key message to local authorities and communities is to recognize and value the contribution of informal waste collection in building a clean, green, beautiful Vietnam for future generations.”
Circular Economy Principles in the Humanitarian Sector
Supported by the joint centre of KLU and HELP Logistics – the Center for Humanitarian Operations and Regional Development (CHORD) – and funded by the European Union, the WORM project aims to develop practical guidelines and support mechanisms to reduce waste and its environmental impact, while promoting circular economy principles within the humanitarian sector. WORM focuses on two key operational contexts: field hospital deployments and humanitarian livelihood programmes that incorporate waste picking as a component.
“Events like the Khanh Hoa province one need to be maintained and expanded, not only in Vietnam, but many other parts of the world where humanitarian efforts are under way,” noted Dr. Joseph.
CHORD, the joint centre of HELP Logistics and KLU, will continue this work and further develop sustainable and resilient supply-chain solutions for humanitarian contexts.
Photo Impressions
