Informal waste workers in Ho Chi Minh City receive training, safety gear under BASF-backed initiative

The program is a joint effort by BASF Starting Ventures, Yunus Environment Hub Vietnam, and the Women’s Union of Binh Khanh Commune.

The first workshop, held on Thursday in Binh Khanh, trained over 100 workers and provided each with a bicycle and protective equipment worth a total of VND5 million (US$190).

A second session is planned for later this year.

Organizers said the initiative supports the livelihoods of informal waste collectors — many of them women — by enhancing work efficiency and personal safety, while acknowledging their role in the city’s recycling efforts.

The training is part of BASF’s ‘Accompanying Eco-Guardians: Driving a Sustainable Recycling Community’ program, which seeks to build capacity among informal workers in Vietnam’s waste sector.

The effort also aligns with Ho Chi Minh City’s waste management plan and the Southeast Asian country’s national plastic reduction targets by 2030.

Located about 50 km from the city center, Binh Khanh is a gateway to the former Can Gio District and faces mounting plastic pollution.

Vietnam generates an estimated 2.9 to 3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with only 27 to 33 percent recycled, according to data from the World Bank, UNDP Vietnam, and WWF.

Most sorting and collection is done by informal workers under precarious conditions.

Yunus Environment Hub Vietnam said the project aims to empower participants — especially women — as micro-entrepreneurs within the waste value chain.