[New version] Zero waste lifestyle

GUIDEBOOK ON THE INTEGRATION OF ECOLOGICAL LIFESTYLE INTO EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH

Topic

ZERO-WASTE LIFESTYLE

Reprinted with the addition Hanoi, June 2019

Implementation: Center for Development of Community Initiative and Environment (C&E) This guidebook was compiled and published under the sponsorship of Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung – Southeast Asia Copyright: This guidebook can be copied or cited for noncommercial purposes only Compile: Nguyen Duc Tung, Truong Minh Den Edit: Vu Van Tuan, Ngo Thi Phuong Thao, Nguyen Viet Trung, Bui Thi Thanh Thuy Design: Nguyen Khanh Linh Photo: C&E Center, colleagues and internet Address: No 12 lane 89 Xa Dan street, Phuong Lien, Dong Da district, Hanoi Phone number: +84 24 3573 8536 Email: ce.center.office@gmail.com Website: ce-center.org.vn

PREFACE Within the course of the project “Scaling up and mainstreaming innovative approaches on ecological movement into activities of universities” the year 2018 funded by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, the “Guidebook on the integration of ecological lifestyle into educational activities for youth – Topic: Zero-waste lifestyle” is one of the 6 educational toolkits on ecological lifestyle. The toolkits are designed for teachers, trainers and youth activists with topics related to Tourism, Food, Water, Waste, Shopping and Gardening.

This guidebook is written with the purpose of leading youth activities towards the topic of waste, especially in the context of zero-waste lifestyle. Hence, the young generation would have a better understanding of waste and its impact. At the same time, they will be equipped with more knowledge and motivation to act.

Another objective of this guidebook is to support teachers, trainers and youth activists to inspire their learners in a diverse, scientific-based and interesting way. It introduces methods to integrate the topic “Zero-waste lifestyle” into educational program as well as activities in order to change learners’ awareness and action. As a result, learners can apply this into their future career and spread to their community where they live, study and work.

Furthermore, this guidebook is not designed for teachers, trainers and youth activists only, it is a simple tool for every individuals and organizations who seek to understand and integrate topics related to ecological lifestyle into extracurricular, training or educational activities for young people. No matter who you are or where you work, you can be an inspirer to your community.

The compilation team hope to receive comments and suggestions from individuals and organizations to better revise and publicize this guidebook in upcoming times.

C&E Center

The compilation team

CONTENT

01

START WITH WASTE

6

Understand about waste

7

What is waste?

7

What harm does waste cause?

8

Where does waste come from?

10

Zero-waste lifestyle: Easy or not?

12

How do countries in the world handle their waste? 12

02

Waste or valuable material?

15

Solid waste collection and treatment in Vietnam

17

Zero-waste cities

24

Green enterprise

26

Zero-waste individual lifestyle

27

METHODOLOGIES TO INTEGRATE THIS TOPIC INTO EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH 28 Forms of integration

29

ITraining methods

33

Experiential learning cycle

33

Best practice analysis

35

Project 37 Brainstorming 39

03

RECOMMENDATION ON TRAINING PROGRAMS 41 Lesson plan – Waste is resource

42

On-class lesson

42

Practical exercise

43

Field-trips 45 Making personal plan

04 05

46

REFERENCE 53

APPENDIX 56 Living a green life by reducing plastic waste

57

6

PART

01 Start with waste

7

UNDERSTAND ABOUT WASTE What is waste?

Vietnamese Dictionary defines “Waste: garbage, thrown away, worthless, unusable stuff”; “Waste: same as garbage”; “Garbage: waste and stuff that were discarded after being used in general”.

This concept presents 2 criteria to distinguish waste and other forms of material, which are: (1) waste exists in the form of materials; (2) worthless, unusable and unwanted stuff that nobody owns or uses.

The English-Vietnamese and Vietnamese-English environmental dictionary defines “waste” as “any substance, solid, liquid or gas that is no longer usable to the body or system which produced it and requires action of disposal”. According to this concept, the criteria to distinguish waste are: (1) Waste is material that exists in solid, liquid or gaseous form; (2) The material is no longer of use to the body or system that produced it; (3) Require disposal methods to eliminate such material.

Based on Vietnamese Law on Environmental Protection in 2015, waste is defined in Clauses 12 and 13 of Article 3 as follows: - “Waste is material discharged from production, business, service, daily life or other activities”.

- “Hazardous wastes are wastes containing toxic, radioactive, infectious, inflammable, explosive, corrosive, poisonous or other hazardous properties.”

8

What harm does waste cause?

With the rapid development of society and the explosion of the global population, the amount of waste, which was produced in huge quantities and everywhere, has been causing tremendous consequences due to their exposure to human health and the environment. If management and disposal of waste is not good, its negative effects can be: • Causing bad appearance in the area: Waste being disposed rashly to the environment, not collected, transported to treatment ... will leave an ugly image, adversely affecting landscape of the area.

• Areas where garbage is collected are the places where mosquitoes, flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches and other germs, bacteria and fungi are attracted, and developed, which can cause many infectious diseases to humans and animals. In addition, waste also affects the life and development of beneficial organisms.

• Causes unpleasant smell due to the decomposition of garbage: In the composition of domestic waste, organic content accounts to a high amount and is easily decomposed, causing the stench, developing bacteria that pollute the air, water and soil environment, contaminating the environment, affecting human’s lives and health.

The risk of surface water pollution from waste Photo: Internet

Area that bans thrash has become a construction waste site – Photo: Nguyen Duc Tung, photo taken next to the walking tunnel under the round highway number 3 – Nguyen Xien street – Hanoi.

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• Impact on the aquatic environment: waste is usually disposed in rivers, canals, sewers, ponds, lakes, lagoons or coastal areas. This amount of waste after decomposition will directly or indirectly affect the quality of surface water as well as underground water in the area. Rubbish can be swept away by runoff, which can lead to waterlogging, reducing the ability of the water to clean itself, causing surface water contamination of the continental watershed

and

coastal

waters.

Severe

consequences might lead to the destruction of

Bird-view of Da Phuoc landfill – Ho Chi Minh city.

Photo: Internet

aquatic ecosystem.

• Impact on the soil environment: On the one hand, waste can contain many toxins. On the other hand, in the decay process, many toxins are generated. If waste is not treated well, these toxins will penetrate and contaminate the soil. At the same time, it will destroy many species that are useful for soil such as worms, microorganisms, frogs, etc., thus reducing the biodiversity and developing many pests what destroy crops.

• The current amount of plastic waste in the ocean is at an alarming rate and has a serious impact on the marine environment. 90% of the waste floating on the sea is plastic waste including: candy wraps, plastic bottles, plastic bags, straws ... Not only being “multiplied” every year, but because of its structural characteristics are artificial synthetic polymers with light weight, they float across the oceans, persisting and estimated to take hundreds of years to decompose. Fish, birds, sea animals ... swallow plastic pieces because they think they are food, which is likely to block their digestive system, suffocate them or cause poisoning illness.

More dangerously, toxic substances from plastic waste are also highly likely to infiltrate marine life, thereby also indirectly affecting human health when we consume marine resources.

• High risk of soil, surface water and groundwater contamination due to generation and accumulation of leachate from concentration landfill and spontaneous landfill.

• Economic damage due to high costs of waste collection and treatment.

• Loss of land due to the construction of centralized landfill.

10

Where does waste come from?

There is no waste in nature. Waste started to exist when human showed up on Earth.

Humans have exploited and used resources on Earth for their own development and life-sustaining activities, at the same time producing waste. Today, the world produces 3.5 million tons of waste every day, but this number is constantly skyrocketing. World Bank experts estimate that by 2025, this number will almost double to nearly 6 million tons per day.

Here are the main sources of waste:

A familiar scene of urban waste collection Photo: Nguyen Duc Tung, photo taken at Trung Hoa ward, Cau Giay district, Hanoi

FROM RESIDENTIAL AREAS Including concentrated residential areas, detached houses and condominiums in urban areas. The main sources of waste are: food waste, paper, cardboard, plastics, textiles, leather, garden waste, wood, rubber, glass, metals, ash, electronics, home appliances, overdue medicines... and other hazardous wastes (batteries, light bulbs, waste oil, pesticide packages, mosquito nets, cockroaches ...)

FROM COMMERCIAL AND SERVICE ACTIVITIES Including commercial centers, hotels, inns, restaurants, shops, markets, warehouses, yards, repair stations, warranty and service centers.... The source of waste has the same composition as those from residential areas.

FROM OFFICES This includes schools, administrative agencies, hospitals, soldiers’ camps. The source of waste is similar to that of residential waste and commercial and service activities, but less in volume. Especially, garbage from the hospital area will be of particular types and hazardous properties such as tapes, infectious medical tools, and hazardous medical waste containing microbial agents, radiation, heavy metals, and some cytotoxic toxins.

FROM CONSTRUCTION This includes construction and renovating buildings, building roads, bridges, development infrastructure, flooring, etc., or demolishing or dismantling old buildings. Apart from types of waste which have the same composition as household waste arising from office areas of construction sites and temporary labor camps, there are also waste containing specific characteristics of construction such as iron, broken bricks, sand, gravel, concrete, soot, ducts, wood chips, dirt...

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FROM PUBLIC SERVICES OF URBAN AREAS Including activities to clean up streets, parks, gardens, sewers; pruning, planting, embellishing and decorating landscape; water and wastewater treatment plant; beaches and recreation areas. The source of waste from this type is very diverse, with the full range of waste mentioned above. There are also sewage sludge from sewers, bulky ruined furniture...

FROM INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION Including waste generated from industrial and handicraft production activities (mechanics, cement, steel, textiles, beer, soft drinks, sweets, confectionery...), fuel burning, packaging... Waste is generated by the processing industry, scrap and daily solid waste.

FROM AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION AND CRAFT VILLAGES For agricultural production, the source of waste is generated mainly from post-harvest fields, farms, orchards, from aquaculture and seafood processing, post-harvest vegetables. Garbage is mainly from cultivation, husbandry, from the processing of agricultural products, aqua products, animal dung, agricultural waste, excess food.

For craft villages, garbage will have characteristic of each type of production, specifically: • Village of agricultural product processing: cassava fiber, starch, peel,...

• Recycled paper village: packing, plastic, label,...

• Mechanical handicraft production: mixed metals, plastic, ash,...

• Furniture handicraft village: wood chips, sawdust, bottles,...

• Weaving and dying village: cloth scraps, chemical containers,...

• Recycled plastic village: plastic resin, coal slag, ...

• Hat manufacturing village: paint container, chips, wire,...

• Copper casting village: mixed metals, ash, chemical containers,...

Waste overload from new urban areas in Hanoi – Photo: Nguyen Duc Tung, photo taken under the bridge of the round highway number 3 – Nguyen Xien street – close to Green City Urban Area.

12

ZERO-WASTE LIFESTYLE: EASY OR NOT? How do countries in the world handle their waste?

Facing warnings about the global waste crisis is increasingly serious, rubbish can cause enormous environmental and financial burdens for governments. Many countries in the world have taken solutions to manage and treat waste in accordance with their own conditions.

In Japan, waste management and garbage security are effectively implemented by successful implementation of the waste classification system from the beginning and the application of modern waste treatment and recycling technologies.

Japan’s waste classification system is relatively complex. Each city, town and county has a completely different system. For example, 23 neighborhoods in Tokyo have their own trash separation systems, all burnable garbage is required to be put into a red bag, garbage can not be burned in blue bags while paper, plastic, bottles, soft plastic, newspapers, paperboard, glass and battery are to be put in white bags.

According to Waste Atlas, Japan discharged a total of 45,360,000 tons of waste each year, ranking 8th in the world. Because there is not much land to bury waste like the United States and China, Japan is forced to rely on another solution which is burning garbage. The country has used fluidized boiling combustion, an effective method to handle hard-to-burn materials.

In Korea, waste management is similar to Japan, but the way it is treated is more like Germany. Partial organic kitchen waste is used as medium to grow food, most of this waste is sent to controlled landfill to collect biogas for electricity generation. After waste in the pit decomposed completely, people use humus in the landfill for fertilizer.

In developed countries the waste classification from sources was conducted over 30 years ago and has now basically succeeded in separating waste into two lines: decomposable organic are collected daily to process, non-decomposables which can be recycled or burned and buried safely are collected weekly.

In Southeast Asia, Singapore has succeeded in managing solid waste to protect the environment. The government is demanding to increase recycling rates by sorting garbage from households, markets and businesses to reduce

13

state spending. Meanwhile, in Bangkok, the sorting of garbage at the source is only possible in some schools and some central districts to separate some types of recycled packaging, the remaining amount of waste is still buried, but are pressed tightly to reduce volume and carefully wrapped in nylon around each block of garbage to reduce pollution.

In Denmark, local governments are responsible for collecting and treating waste. Danish legislation prohibits the burning of recyclable waste. Locals can dump recyclable waste at recycling centers, without paying a fee. However, they will be heavily penalized if they bring waste that can be recycled into the incinerator. At Copenhagen’s Vestforbraending plant, Denmark’s largest new waste treatment plant, waste trucks must stop at the weighbridge before entering the garbage dump. Garbage is checked randomly to detect recyclable waste and violators are severely punished. Morten Slotved - the mayor of Horsholm, where there is highest per capita income in Denmark – said that the plant helped reduce heating costs and increase the value of local residents’ homes. In the city of Horsholm, only 4% of waste is disposed in landfill and 1%, including chemicals, paints, and electronic waste, is transported to a special landfill. 61 percent of the city’s waste is recycled and 34 percent is burned in a waste-toenergy factory. These plants have used a variety of new screening equipment to remove potentially pollutants before transfering garbage into the furnace. The pollution levels of these plants are 10 to 20% lower than the strict European environmental standards. Contaminated wastes are treated separately, not buried.

In India, nearly 6.4 million tons of hazardous waste are produced annually, of which 3.09 million tons can be recycled, 0.41 million tons can be burned and 2.73 million tons will be dumped to landfills. Most of the waste has properties suitable for utilizing them as source materials, or for restoring energy or materials such as metals or using them in the construction industry, manufacturing low end products or for the restoration of the same original product, which after treatment can be used as a source material. Thus, a new idea is formed to treat hazardous waste as a source of raw materials rather than as non-disposable material.

The use of alternative fuels or refuse derived fuels (RDF) is a common practice

14

in the Indian cement industry. The first RDF factory was built in 2006 by Grasim Industries at the Adithya plant in Rajasthan. Since then, the Indian government has licensed 22 cement plants to build similar RDF plants.

Australia is one of the most polluting countries in the world. Excluding the United States, Australia releases more waste each year than any other country. Many of the major urban centers in Australia have been expanded to accommodate higher living standards. Therefore, the waste treatment system is also required bigger scale. Solutions for sustainable waste disposal are sought and applied. It is estimated that one person in Australia dumps 3kg of waste a day. This waste can be solid, liquid or gaseous. For some types of solid waste such as household waste, industrial products are treated at landfill sites, but the number of landfills is limited. In Sydney, for example, the problem of finding new landfills has led to the idea that waste can be dumped in other areas such as abandoned mines near Goulburn. The use of landfill sites as a basic waste management approach will increase the “ecological footprint” in Sydney. For household wastewater such as dishwashers, vehicle cleaners are classified as liquid wastes treated with a domestic waste water recycling system. Located in southern Australia, Adelaide is considered one of the world’s best cities to live. 85% of municipal waste is recycled. It is also one of the most sustainable cities in Australia.

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates all types of waste under the 1976 Resource Conservation and Restoration Act (RCRA). Solid waste may include waste and sludge from wastewater treatment plants and other types of waste from industrial activities. RCRA includes the processing of hazardous waste, encouraging individuals and organizations to develop comprehensive plans for waste management. The western area has the largest number of landfill sites in the country. Landfills must comply with Federal regulation for the pollution prevention as well as the provision of groundwater and gaseous waste pollution monitoring systems. Management companies must ensure the cost of environmental protection throughout the entire life cycle of a landfill. With solid waste being recycled or turned into fertilizer for soil nourishment, it has helped reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

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Waste or valuable material?

SWEDEN: HEATING BY THRASH As a cold climate country, the favourite recycling method of Swedish people is burning. Burning for the production of thermal power and for heating system. Furthermore, their electricity is also from the thermal power plant that burns waste.

For years, this Nordic country has risen to become the world leader in recycling, reusing waste at a high rate. Up to 96% of the waste will be recycled, only 4% will be buried. Per capita, on average, a Swedish man only buries about 7 kg of waste per year, compared with 260 kilograms in the UK. When there is not enough garbage for heating, Sweden has negotiated to import waste from other countries. More than 30 incinerators in Sweden consume 5.5 million tons of waste, of which 20%, or about one million tons, are imported from Norway, the UK or Italy.

Not just “cleaning the garbage of their neighbours”, Sweden is targeting another cheap source of waste – waste on oceans. According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, accessing sea garbage islands is more difficult than importing waste on the continent. However, some options are offered, including the possibility that Sweden will recycle ocean waste in Hawaii, USA. Although this option is still under consideration by the two governments, scientists and economists believe the possibility of cooperation of the two countries is very high.

SINGAPORE: TURNING WASTE INTO ELECTRICITY In Singapore, only 2% of solid waste is buried, 38% is burned to generate electricity and 60% of the waste is recycled.

Since 2001, the Singapore government has implemented a waste treatment program to increase recycling rates. They built a landfill on the island of Semakau on land reclamation. The process of selection and recycling of waste has been introduced to the residents. A collection system was launched and schools, offices, shopping centers and industries were involved in the recycling program. By the end of 2005, 56% of Singaporean households were involved in this recycling program.

Singapore also uses garbage incineration, thereby reducing the amount of waste dumped into landfills and at the same time generating electricity for use. At the present, four waste power plants

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in Singapore meet nearly 3% of the nation’s electricity demand. The recycling rate is high at 60%.

Singapore’s National Environment Agency said Singapore is planning to build a fifth plant that turns waste into electricity, which is scheduled to operate in 2019.

VARIOUS WAYS TO TRANSFORM WASTE IN JAPAN The amount of waste in Japan is estimated at more than 45 million tons a year, ranking 8th in the world. Since there is not much land for burying garbage, the country is forced to rely on burning waste.

Japan uses fluidized boiling combustion, an effective method for burning hard-to-burn materials.

Post-classified waste will be hanged above the effervescent ash cushion so that hot air passes through it, which promotes rapid heat transfer and promotes chemical reactions.

20.8% of total annual waste is recycled in Japan, especially polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.

PET is a popular material for the production of drinking water bottles in vending machines and grocery stores across Japan. Many Japanese companies are increasingly using plastic from old PET bottles for new production. PET bottles that have not undergone filtering can be converted into clothing fibers, bags, carpets and raincoats.

In addition, Japan has also applied the technology of sealing seas with heavy rocks, cement, dust and waste to create new land. Both international airports, Chubu Centrair and Kansai, are built on artificial islands built from garbage. In Tokyo, the city government has renovated 249 square kilometers of land along Tokyo Bay from landfill sites.

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Solid waste collection and treatment in Vietnam COLLECTION AND TREATMENT OF COMMON SOLID WASTE TAs reported by the Ministry of Construction, the average collection rate in urban areas in the period of 2013-2014 is about 84-85%, increases from 3 to 4% compared to the period 2008-2010. In the suburban areas, the average collection rate is about 60% of the amount of daily generated solid waste. The rate of waste collection from daily living activities in rural areas is low, about 40-55%.

In remote areas, this proportion is only about 10%.

According to reports from localities, in some special cities and level-1 cities have an waste collection rate of 100% as in HCMC; Danang; Hai Phong; about 98% in Hanoi’s inner-city districts (96% in Ha Dong and 94% in Son Tay); Hue reached 95%. Second-tier cities have also improved significantly, with the majority of level-2 and level-3 cities achieving over 80% -85% collection rate in the inner city. In urban areas level 4 and 5, the collection was not much improved due to limited resources and the lack of capital for equipment collection, waste is mainly collected by cooperatives or private sector. On the other hand, the awareness of people in these cities is not high so there are still families that do not use garbage collection service.

In urban areas, the collection and transportation of daily solid waste shall be carried out by urban environment companies or urban public infrastructure company.

In rural areas, the collection and transportation of daily solid waste is mostly done by collectors and collectives, who pay for the collection in agreement with the local people and the direction of the local authorities. However, the collection and transportation in rural areas usually only stops at the transition point, thus not fully addressing the problem of garbage collection in this area.

The classification of solid waste at the source does not have policies and is not synchronized for the collection and processing stages. Currently, the solid waste classification at sources has been piloted in some wards of some big cities. The majority of urban solid waste are not classified at the source, every thing is collected and transported to the landfill. Landfilling of daily solid waste is a common treatment in urban areas. There are also a number of technologies to process solid waste treatment by sorting, collecting and recycling of some components including organic waste, w plastic, glass, metal or building materials.

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In rural areas, during the implementation of criterion 17 of the national target program on building new rural areas, some localities has strengthened the establishment of units to collect daily solid waste. Collection and treatment are initially applied to daily solid waste, step by step limiting issue of cluttered waste dumping. According to statistics, currently around 40% of villages and communes form self-managed waste collection teams with money contribution from local people, such as Binh Xuyen and Yen Lac District (Vinh Phuc), Thanh Tri District (Ha Noi), Yen Phong district (Bac Ninh) ... However, the efficiency of domestic waste collection is low due to the poor system of recycling and classification. For hazardous and non-degradable waste such as chemicals and packaging of used pesticides, collection has been carried out in some places but there is no direction for treatment afterwards.

Solid waste made from production activities is collected and transported by the production facilities or some other units. In craft villages, only a small part of solid waste is collected together with daily waste, while most of them are not collected and treated.

The most common urban waste treatment methods are solid waste burial; burial with EM injection, powdered lime; burial with technical control and pollution treatment; using furnace; processing of compost by foreign technology; Seraphin technology, ASC security; energy recovery burning; burn anaerobic solid waste into coal.

Besides the positive results, the application of solid waste treatment technology has many problems.

The selection of landfill, transition and collection areas is not scientific-based and persuasive; the waste treatment technology has not yet ensured environmental sanitation therefore it has not received much support from local people. Based on field surveys in 63 provinces, it appears that in many provinces in the South Central Coastal area and the Central Highland, industrial waste and daily solid waste are still buried together, most burial sites are unsanitary. In the Central Highlands, openair burial sites are usually located in valleys near the source of water, which pollutes the downstream area. For the Mekong Delta River, many landfill sites have no embankments, floods flooded landfills cause environmental pollution. Many burial sites have open structure, in the dry season, waste is burned.

As of 2012, there are about 25 solid waste treatment plants built and put into operation with a designed capacity of around 4,000 tons / day operating mainly in some urban areas, 3 of which uses burning technology, 3 plants use both burning and compost production. The remaining

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factories using composting technology in combination with burial have been built and put into operation. These plants have contributed to minimizing landfill waste and limiting the impact on the environment.

Up to the first quarter of 2014, 26 solid waste treatment plants have been built under the Solid Waste Processing Program for the period 2011-2020 according to local plans. Of the 26 treatment plants, there are 03 treatment plants using incineration technology, 11 treatment plants using organic fertilizer production technology, 11 treatment plants using combined organic fertilizer production technology with burning, 01 processing plant using fuel pellets production technology. However, the efficiency of daily solid waste technology used in these facilities has not been fully evaluated.

There has not been a selected model of comprehensive solid waste technology that meets technical, economic, social and environmental criteria.

According to inadequate reports from provinces and centrally-run cities, there are now 50 domestic solid waste incinerators in the country, most of them are small incinerators (less than 500 kg / h), of which about 2/3 are manufactured and assembled domestically. In many places in rural areas, there is a tendency to massively invest in waste incinerators at district and commune levels. This is a temporary solution to solve the problem of daily waste in rural areas. However, the problem with the management and control of these incinerators, especially for those that do not meet the technical requirements, an unsafe operation would lead to the generation of pollution, emitting toxic gases into the environment, especially emissions of dioxin and furan are very dangerous for public health.

Socialization - encouraging all economic sectors to invest in the construction of a solid waste treatment plant - is facing difficulties and has not met the expected results, especially in borrowing and repaying loans. The revenue from the locally-committed solid waste treatment fee is only about 30% of the annual processing costs. Revenue from recycled products (compost, recycled plastics, block bricks, etc.) is relatively low and unstable. Solid waste general management is also subsidized by the state budget while environmental sanitation fee is very low.

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THE COLLECTION AND TREATMENT OF MEDICAL SOLID WASTE For the treatment of medical solid waste, compared to the previous period, this activity has been significantly enhanced. However, the investment has not been synchronized in provinces and cities.

Especially, the medical solid waste collection and recycling activities in many places are not implemented in accordance with the regulation on management of medical waste.

According to data reported by the Environmental Management Agency (Ministry of Health) on the management of medical solid waste, more than 90% of hospitals carry out daily collection and sort waste from the source. However, for local health care facilities managed by the Health Department, the collection, storage and transportation of solid waste has not been paid much attention, especially the sorting and storage of waste from sources. Local statistics in 2013 show that 32 out of 57 localities have the rate of medical solid waste treatment of 80% or more. In general, the rate of medical collection in 2011-2015 does not increase much.

By 2015, the rate of collected medical solid waste reached over 75%; the proportion of hazardous waste collected and treated is about 65%. Most hospitals collect and classify wastes but the number of collection facilities are lacking and most are incomplete and not up to standards; there are no facilities to ensure the transportation process is secure.

At the health care facility under the Ministry of Health, most of the medical solid waste are collected and transported to the centralized storage areas and then processed at the incinerators at the establishments or people would sign transport contracts and handle waste at the treatment establishments already licensed within the geographical areas.

Among more than 300 tons of medical waste each day, only one third of these solid waste is burned in modern incinerators and can ensure environmental safety. Statistics show that there are nearly 200 specialized medical waste incinerators in the country, of which two garbage incinerators are concentrated in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The remaining are medium and small sized incinerators.

The number of medical waste incinerators is only available for 453 hospitals and clinics, accounting for 40% of hospitals. In addition, incinerators are mainly located in provincial hospitals and some district hospitals in towns and cities. As many as 33% of district and provincial hospitals do not have a specialized incineration system, they handle hazardous medical waste using manual burners, buried in hospital premises, or discharged directly to common dump sites where there are densely populated areas and many of these waste are sold out for recycling. These are real threats to the environment and people’s lives.

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Currently, the use of non-combustible, environmentally friendly technologies in medical waste treatment has been encouraged and promoted. Typically, the technology of medical treatment wastes by nonburning methods such as disinfection by oven and microwave oven is effective both economically and environmentally because temperature is below 4000C should not cause special emissions of dioxin / furan and it can reduce energy consumption.

COLLECTION AND TREATMENT OF HAZARDOUS WASTE FROM PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES According to statistics from localities, the volume of hazardous waste (HW) collected and processed is increasing year by year, specifically in 2012 at 165,624 tons, in 2013 at 186,657 tons (increase 12.7% compared to in 2012), 320,275 tons in 2014 (an increase of 93.4% compared to 2012), accounting for 40% of total hazardous waste generated nationwide.

Compared with 5 years from 2005 to 2010, in the period from 2011 to 2015, the collection and treatment of HWs in a number of large-scale production facilities have started to be focus on. However, in small and medium enterprises, this problem is still loosened. Currently, industrial HWs are collected and processed by URENCO and some other small units or are self-collected, processed or stored by the production units.

Most of HW treatment facilities are private companies (accounting for 97% of total HW treatment businesses licensed by Minister of Natural Resource and Environment (MoNRE). The processing capacity of the establishments licensed by MoNRE is about 1,300 tons / year, they play a major role in collecting, transporting and treating HW throughout the country. The development of private companies operating under the market mechanism will help the waste management activities to be highly competitive, thus creating conditions for the HW emitters to choose company with relevant experience and service, avoiding monopoly and price manipulation. However, collecting, transporting and treating HWs in remote areas still face many difficulties, especially with those who produce less hazardous wastes (<0.6 tons per year). They can not find the unit responsible for processing to sign the transfer contract. These issues have put considerable pressure on the collection and transportation of HW in our country.

In recent years, through the National Target Program of pollution mitigation and environment generation in the period 2012-2015, Decision No. 1946 / QD-TTg dated 21/10/2010 of the Prime Minister on approval of the plan for treatment and prevention of environmental pollution caused by pesticides residue in the whole country and targeted programs of state budget funding for comprehensive treatment to reduce pollution and minimize environmental degradation for some public utility and international cooperation projects, MONRE and other ministries and localities have processed 60 serious persistent pesticide residues; processed and destroyed more than 900 tons of chemical substances stored in the reservoir pesticides; develop technical guidelines for management of pesticides contaminated areas.

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Current solid waste treatment techniques in Vietnam

1. Technology of burning garbage to generate energy.

2. Technology of organic fertilizer production.

3. Biogas processing technology.

4. Waste water treatment technology.

5. Technology to recycle rubbish into construction materials and preparations.

6. Technology to recycle useful ingredients in waste.

7. Technology for processing solid waste by Seraphin technology.

8. ASC Security 9. Hygienic solid waste burial.

10. Hazardous solid waste burial.

11. Other technologies...

The choice of solid waste treatment technology must be based on the nature and composition of waste and the specific local condition. Encourage the selection of synchronous and advanced technologies for recycling and reuse of waste to create materials and energy. Encourage the application of advanced technologies to treat waste comprehensively, minimize the volume of solid waste buried in landfills, save land funds used for burial and ensure environmental sanitation.

Source: General Department of Environment, 2015

The use of plastic bags in Vietnam

In our country, plastic bags, mainly ultra-thin bags, are widely used in social activities. According to unofficial statistics, in two big cities are Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City alone, about 80 tons of plastic and plastic bags are disposed per day. In Thua Thien Hue, according to the latest survey, 650 tons of waste are discharged into the environment (200 tons in Hue city alone), of which 6% are plastic waste, equivalent to 35 tons of plastic. This number is constantly increasing.

According to a survey of an environmental agency, a Vietnamese person annually uses about 30kg of plastic-based products. Plastic bags waste occupies a large volume of plastic waste.

These plastic bags are small, thin, less valuable to collectors and recyclers therefore it exist quite popular in landfills and almost can not decompose. Plastic bags that are burnt in open dumps will pollute the air environment due to the emission of polluting gases such as HCl, VOC, Dioxin, Furan...

Source: General Department of Environment, 2016

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Producing organic compost from daily solid waste (DSW)

At present, organic DSW treatment facilities mainly use anaerobic or anaerobic treatment for about 40-45 days. Some processing facilities are operating: the Southern DSW treatment plant Binh Duong is a member of Binh Duong Drainage and Environment OneMember Limited Company (using Spanish equipment line, designed capacity 420 tons / day); Cam Xuyen, Ha Tinh waste treatment and processing plant belongs to Ha Tinh Urban Management Company Limited (using the equipment line of Mernat - Belgium, designed capacity 200 tons / day); Trang Cat Garbage Treatment Plant, Hai Phong Urban Environment Company Limited (using Korean equipment line, designed capacity 200 tons / day); Nam Thanh Cement Plant, Ninh Thuan Province belongs to Nam Thanh Trading and Production Construction Co., Ltd (Vietnam equipment line, designed capacity 200 tons / day, expected to increase capacity to 300 tons/day) ... Equipment systems in the technological line of processing facilities are imported from abroad and often have to update technology and equipment to match the characteristics of the DSW that is not classified at source and the climate in Vietnam.

Report on “Assessing the current status of hazardous and daily waste treatment technology in Vietnam”, the 4th National Environment Conference, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, September 2015.

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Zero-waste cities HOI AN, VIET NAM In December 2009, Hoi An City issued the “Ecological City Declaration”. In 2017, the People Committee of Hoi An City has approved Hoi An building action plan “Ecological city - raising awareness and responsibility for environmental protection of enterprises “.

This action plan consists of two phases, with the first phase being from 2017 to 2018, the second phase from 2018-2019 and the following years.

In Phase 1, efforts will be made to complete the composition and publication of the City’s “Waste White Paper”. 100% of enterprises are aware of and implement the contents of environmental protection according to the policy of the city; improve the efficiency of waste treatment plants; 85% of enterprises implement comprehensive classification of garbage; 100% hazardous solid waste in the field is collected, transported and handled correctly.

In Phase 2, the construction and implementation of the collection of large-scale solid waste. Over 5% of organic waste used for composting at the facility, self-fertilized crops, contributes to reduce the amount of waste. More than 10% of daily waste is recycled or reused. There is no waste on the sidewalks, roads, curbs which can affect the tourism activities and urban environment.

When tourists travel to Cham Island, Hoi An, a compulsory requirement is not to use plastic bags. This has created a beautiful image in the hearts of international and domestic visitors, bringing a new look to the green tourism of Vietnam.

The message of no plastic bags on Cham Island (Source: C&E/Trương Minh Đến)

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DONGTAN CITY, CHINA According to solid waste management experience in Dongtan City, China, waste will be collected 100% in the city and only 10% will be officially discharged into the environment. Solid waste is considered as an important resource for bioenergy production. Landfills are always designed for the recovery of gas for energy and making compost. In addition, tall buildings require a separate collection and treatment system1.

SALT LAKE CITY, UNITED STATES Here, solid waste needs to be recycled and minimized to be an ecological city. Recycling and reducing the amount of solid waste is primarily aimed at reducing the pressure on landfills and limiting greenhouse gas emissions (especially CH42).

SANTA MONICO CITY, UNITE STATES The goal of Santa Monica is to become a no-solid waste city. The government encourages all residents to minimize the need for non-local, non-recyclable and non-reusable natural resources3.

YOKOHAMA CITY, JAPAN Yokohama is one of the most typical eco-cities in Japan and the world. The city is well known for its G30 waste management program (mobilizing people to reduce their solid waste by 30%). This action plan will clarify the responsibilities of families, businesses and government agencies to reduce solid waste with the 3R model and to create an integrated approach to reduce solid waste. The city’s solid waste has dropped 38.7%, from 1.6 million tons in 2001 to 1 million tons in 2007. Hence, the city has shut down two incinerators that handle solid waste, increasing the use of landfill sites, reducing emissions by 40%, contributing to save $ 1.1 billion4.

PORTLAND CITY, UNITED STATES The vision of Portland is to achieve zero solid waste and the optimal management of solid waste. The given activities included: enhanced recycling of solid waste at home; expanding solid waste recycling facilities; extension of organic compost from solid waste at household level; proposing the ban on using plastic bags, encourage the use of biological bags; using products from recycled materials5.

1 Dean Thompson, 2009, Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City: A case study of an emergin eco-city in China, The World Bank.

2 David McKay, 2012, Eco-city Indicators, Oregon Planner Magazine, No November & December.

3 David McKay, 2012, Eco-city Indicators, Oregon Planner Magazine, No November & December.

4 Hiroaki Suzuki & nnk, 2010, Eco2 cities: Ecological cities as economic cities, The World Bank.

5 http://freepdfs.net/kien-tao-mot-thanh-pho-sinh-thai-kinh-nghiem-portland-va-h-psu/813ed59841879b777240932aaf31cd1e/

26

Green enterprise Today, enterprises are following a trend of choosing green solutions for their development strategy.

Green solutions will focus on energy efficiency, waste reduction, production efficiency, etc.

EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) is a green building certification system for emerging markets of IFC (International Finance Corporation), a member of the World Bank Group.

Many businesses have integrated EDGE certification into business models such as Imperial House, PT Ciputra, CareMed, Samhi, NJ Zinnia, City Express Hotel, FPT city, VBHC, Vinte, Nam Long, Canopus.

Environmental protection is one of the values they brings to customers from green buildings.

FPT Complex in Đà Nẵng (Photo: vnexpress.net)

These are some suggestions for a green office: • Make use of leftovers • Organize contests towards zero-waste offices • Build an office culture of not using single-use plastic and food containers • Share old items among employees • Bins to classify waste • Take advantage of wind and natural light • Use two light modes in the office • Combine air conditioners and fans for the first 10 minutes • Use the energy saving mode of appliance • Maintenance of large electronic devices • Buy products made from environmentally friendly materials • Buy certified products • Long term lease of electronic equipment • Buy certified electronics

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Zero-waste individual lifestyle If each of us can see that “waste is only formed when something is no longer used and is thrown away” then it generates specific ideas and actions to extend the life cycle, utilize, reuse, reduce, know how to refuse, know how to repair old stuff to become valuable. Therefore, zero-waste lifestyle is a good practice to nurture positive values in life.

Daily practice is important for every individual to live zero-waste. The following questions can help in changing habit towards this lifestyle: • Can I make my own shampoo, dishwashing liquid, detergent from natural ingredients?

• What can I do with these plastic cups?

• What do I do not use plastic bags when shopping?

• Do I have a plan to repair old furniture?

• Do I really need to buy this?

• Do I have friends willing to share books and tools together?

• What should I do with daily household waste from my house and in my neighbourhood?

• Can I spread zero-waste lifestyle to everyone?

• How do I refuse gifts or products that are not environmentally friendly?

• Where can I learn how to live zero-waste?

Using container when buying coconut juice (Photo: C&E/Đến)

Using old cookie box to plant tree (Photo: C&E/Đến)

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PART

02 Methodologies to integrate this topic into educational activities for youth

29

This guidebook not only focuses on providing information about the topic “Zero waste lifestyle” but also pay attention to the procedure and tools to design trainings, activities, models and organization skills which will help to shift awareness and encourage actions of young people.

However, behavior change and vision formation are not easy and can not be rewarded with result in short-sighted time. This requires the investment of hard work, consistence and appropriate methodology. For an individual and a community to take sustainable action, they need to have basic understanding, know how to act as well as have strong motivation and desire to take part in. We can equip this to others by education, trainings or simply integrating information into other activities in a smart way.

FORMS OF INTEGRATION Zero-waste lifestyle is a useful topic for educators to integrate into teaching, extra-curricular activities using some forms as below:

INTEGRATE INTO TEACHING PLAN, EXERCISE, RESEARCH Trainers can use this topic to provide information, open ideas for students in lectures, assignments or research topics. In the research topics, teachers can integrate in the following research directions: - Understanding of people’s perceptions, attitudes and behaviors on environmental pollution in the classification, collection and treatment of household waste; investigate on the situation and propose some solutions to manage and treat household waste in a certain locality; assessing the situation of waste management and propose some solutions; studying people’s attitude toward zero-waste living in eco-urban areas;

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In exercise, teachers can ask participants to do “waste audit”. For example: Step 1. In a week, weigh the amount of thrash that you or your family throw away everyday and write it in this table: DAY 1

DAY 2 kg

DAY 3 kg

DAY 4 kg

DAY 5 kg

DAY 6 kg

DAY 7 kg

kg

Total amount of thrash this week:……..kg Step 2. Divide the amount of thrash to the number of family member (if it is family scale). The result will show how much thrash each member emit to the environment every week on average.

The average amount of thrash each member/individual: …kg/person.

Step 3. Write down how much thrash can be recycled. In detail: TYPE OF WASTE (BOTTLE, PLASTICS, OLD NEWSPAPERS, BOX, PLASTIC BAGS…)

UNIT (ITEM, BOX, KG…)

HOW MUCH/HOW MANY

For example: old newspaper

Kg

1

INTEGRATION INTO TRAINING ACTIVITIES Extra curricular training will help students understand a related topic. Trainers can initiate training in appropriate spaces and time with the resources available.

For example, the “Model 7R” training in waste management.

RETHINK REDUCE

REFUSE RECYCLE

RETURN

7R MODEL

REPAIR

REUSE

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Trainers can discuss with participants for 2-3 hours.

• Rethink: Rethink about the products you intend to buy, are they necessary, what would happen if you do not have them?

• Reduce: Reduce the amount of waste by using enough, making the most of products.

• Refuse unnecessary packaging and encourage manufacturers to stop over-packing their products. For example, you can use a tin / plastic box to store coconut milk instead of plastic bags.

• Return: Return bottles and reusable containers whenever possible.

• Reuse: reuse and refill as much as possible. Common items such as envelopes, bottles, plastic bags ... can be reused several times.

• Recycle: Recycle inorganic materials like paper, bottles, cans... into completely new, innovative items. Make organic compost from food waste.

• Repair: old clothes / shoes, household electrical appliances are checked regularly and repaired.

One note training activities that are designed for long days: Trainers can collaborate with students in the preparation of content, logistics, organization. This helps students to be more proactive and develop necessary skills. In addition, promoting action before, during and after training is extremely important for students to be empowered. Trainers can apply the rule of 21 Days.

Some psychologists say that in order to act as a habit, actions need to be continued for 21 days. So the lesson is designed in 3-4 weeks, can not be less. This is a process of empowering students and even the trainer to take action. Empowerment will give you positive emotions, thus creating positive actions.

INTEGRATION INTO FIELDTRIPS Field-trips will increase student interest and positive action. Depending on available local resources (landfill, garbage disposal plant, waste treatment plant, hi-tech center, etc.), time (this activity should last at least half a day), budget..., the trainers and students organize the field-trip accordingly.

Before the actual visit, trainers can divide participants into groups to study about waste topic.

Facilitating the process before, during and after the actual visit will help students prepare well and get the best results.

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INTEGRATION INTO EVENTS Trainers can integrate this topic into: contests, exhibitions, fairs, concerts, festivals, or a combination of different types of organizations. Trainers and students will work together to prepare and organize these events to the public. This will help students improve their skills, apply knowledge, learn more about the problem, increase employment opportunities.

Some events that trainers can refer to are recycling festival, challenge 7 days zero-waste, contest of painting / poetry / writing on the theme of Zero-waste lifestyle, Debate “Zero-waste: easy or not?”, turning landfills into a garden, ...

INTEGRATION INTO WASTE PROJECTS IN UNIVERSITIES AND LOCALITIES Universities / localities are implementing many waste related programs and projects within the framework of the implementation of national strategies, national target programs. For example: Decision 491 / QD-TTg approves the adjustment of the National Strategy on Integrated Management of Solid Waste to 2025 with a vision to 2050; Decision 1600 / QD-TTg approves the national target program on building new rural areas in the 2016-2020 period ... Or, in some universities with electronic waste collection programs. At the international level, there is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Trainers can use resources from these programs and projects to help students participate in research activities, practical experiences on the topic. This also helps students increase employment opportunities, access to factual information.

INTEGRATION INTO STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMS IN VIETNAM AND INTERNATIONAL Each year, faculties / universities will have programs related to exchange students between universities in Vietnam and/or oversea. These programs help students exchange academic knowledge and improve their skills. Therefore, trainers can integrate this topic with suggestions such as: • Develop a rule / principle of “zero-waste living” for the whole period of time such as: do not use plastic cup / disposable plastic utensils, carry personal water bottle / utensils, eat all the food you choose, think about the idea of zero-waste to make an initiative for the community, ...

• Share the results of research, specific actions of their students to other students.

• Sharing facts related to waste situation in the local or community that the university is interested in. Afterwards, students and teachers work together on how supporting actions can be done.

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TRAINING METHODS Experiential learning cycle One highly recommended method that can increase the efficiency

EXPERIENCE

APPLICATION

SUMMERY

PHÂN TÍCH

of training and integration is experiential learning cycle, or it can be called “lessons translate into actions” (Felicia, 2011). David Kolb, an American theory educationist proposed 4 steps of experiential learning model as follow: How can we design a training based on this learning model?

First and foremost, the role of trainer/teacher or facilitator (hereafter we will use the word “trainer” for short) is to assist participants to learn and apply the lesson correctly. Therefore, before designing an integrated lesson plan, trainer needs to clarify what the core focus of the training is.

Trainer can follow this step-by-step guide:

01

Analyze participants

Where are they? What is their attitude towards this topic, are they eager to learn? How much do they know about the topic? How much have they practiced or applied? Do they have an eco-lifestyle network?

What do they need to learn and how do they want to learn?

02

Identify learning objectives

The learning objectives need to be very clear so that you can design its content easily and appropriately.

For example: what should learners receive after 45 minutes, after 90 minutes?

In order to identify the objectives, you need to answer two questions: what are the objectives? (skill or knowledge, or both?) at which level?

For example: the objective can be that students will understand the concept or they understand and can repeat or they understand and can explain from their point of view?

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03

Design experiential activities

Experiential exercise is one of the most important indicator defining the success of your lesson. Learners will conclude the lesson points for themselves after going through each experience designed by trainer.

Therefore, the experiential exercise needs to be closely related to the topic for learners to be able to analyze. Experiential activities can include: listen, watch, smell, taste, hands-on, feel or deep thinking.

However, note that these activities should create emotion, excite learners and make them think deeply.

04

Design analyzing activity and summarize the lesson

At this step, trainer will ask questions about the activity for learners to recognize their own experience, come up with deduces and lessons.

05

Design application activity

Application activity is the part where trainer can suggest how learners can relate from lesson to reality.

The application activity has different levels: relate to real life, apply to act, and apply to go deeper into the lesson.

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Best practice analysis Relevant examples are usually provided as story-telling, best practices or case study. This tool is being used widely nowadays for the objective of inspiration. Sometimes knowledge about sustainability might be seen as “theorical”, “too idealistic” or even “dreamy”. Therefore, showing true stories with real people doing real actions will help make the sustainable picture become clearer and more realistic, especially in a highly practical topic as zero-waste lifestyle. For example, trainers can give a case of zero-waste city – Kamikatsu in Japan.

Main values of best practices: • To be examples (to understand complex issues); • To create emotions (learners will interact with real people in real life with true experience); • To be proves (of what has been done of is being done) Using this method, trainers can fulfil many objectives such as: • Draw attention of learners (have you imagine that…?); • Check learners’ knowledge (do you know that…?); • Provide proves for their argument (it shows that…); • Help learners to connect theory and practice; • Develop critical thinking (what would you do in this situation?) and understanding about complex relationship among economics, social and environment in one country; • Raise awareness and encourage actions from learners (what can we do to achieve this?)

Some notes when using this method: • Case-study need to be well prepared and checked for its credibility and update (is it still working? Is it available?)

• Avoid using controversial cases with too many opposite opinions and do not have a credible source to check.

• Even if the lesson time is limited, you should provide enough information for learners to connect from the best practice to themselves and their living condition. Providing more references for learners to research deeper on their own afterwards is highly recommended.

To assist the best practices or case studies, trainers can collect more documents like scientific researches, professional experience and successful stories, information about positive impact of the model.

Trainers can use the following examples to introduce to students. However, trainers should encourage students to put forward cases in their community, or they themselves can be change agents in zerowaste living.

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SWEDEN – THE COUNTRY THAT HAS TO IMPORT TRASH Sweden began a recycling revolution in the second half of the 1940s. The country built waste recycling stations (less than 300 meters away from residential areas). These recycling stations act as a power / heat distribution station for the residents. Every year, Sweden imports about 700,000 tons of waste from other countries for use as raw materials for power plants.

In addition to the application of waste treatment technology, Sweden also provides the best policies for solid waste management, such as the maximum annual discharge (500 kg), waste classification at the source (household), establishment of environmental court.

ONE STRAW REVOLUTION This is the title of a famous book by Japanese author, Masanobu Fukuoka. Every being rely on each other to live, nurture each other to create a sustainable environment. All waste in the garden is rotated to enrich the garden. This has given him a natural, waste-free lifestyle.

In Vietnam, there are groups called “One straw revolution” to spread this harmonious lifestyle. The members shared good experiences in how to utilize agricultural waste as a bio-product, how to make bio-fertilizers, and rural or urban households utilizing waste to make garden... all create a movement of green living for youth.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cachmangrom/ ACTIVE AGENTS OF ZERO-WASTE LIFESTYLE Nowadays, with the development of social network, it’s easy to find positive agents in a zero-waste lifestyle shared by online community. Each person has a uniqueness to look up to such as: no plastic bags, natural soap, duck farming-rice-fish farming, natural shampoo, bamboo products ... For example, Ms. Trinh Thi Hong made dishwashing detergent from organic waste, or singer Jack Johnson sharing tips on reducing waste via the youtube channel...

THE COMPOST PEDALLERS • Location: Austin, Texas, United States • Starting year: 2012 • Model: Cycle to families to collect organic waste, make compost and then deliver it to gardens

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Compost Pedallers use a decentralized model, meaning organic resources are distributed and composted in a network of urban agricultural centers. The network consists of commercial farms as well as community, school, and backyard gardens. Each site processes the organics from its immediate surroundings with the goal of composting everything in the system as close to where it was produced as possible. This strengthens community bonds, improves soil quality, builds local economy, reduces vehicle emissions, supports local food production, and reduces water and pesticide use.

Website: https://compostpedallers.com/

Project Trainers can use project-based methods to increase student interest and motivate action to deliver more concrete results. Trainers can assign project activities to small groups in different topics such as making bio-products from scrap fruits and vegetables in the market, making organic fertilizer from bio-waste, project on media ideas for students at University A related to the theme “zero-waste lifestyle”, ...

The following suggestions will help trainers with more information to provide to students during the project implementation on a small scale by group, in a short time (about 1 week to 3 months).

• Basic information of the project, including: o Project’s name o Objective o Time and place o Person / group implementing the project o Person / agency supporting the project implementation o Project activities (Describe the purpose of the activity, the resources needed for the activity, the results of the activity, the advantages or challenges of the activity, etc.) o Challenges and risks of the project o Budget o Project’s communication • Suggest students to focus on a specific subject / topic for concrete results; • Ensure that the project is effective within one week to three months; • A project should have concrete results related to three issues: knowledge, attitude and behavior.

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WHY ?

5W – 2H Model

Though it seems so obvious, in many projects this question was never asked. The reason, purpose or objective that drives you to do this project should be very clear, specific and it will guide all the project’s activities. When designing project steps, keep asking yourself “Does it serve the overall objective of the project?

WHAT ?

What exactly do you want to do? The more specific, the better WHO? Who will be doing this with you? Who can help you in this project?

WHEN? The decision of when to start the project should be taken after you think of the previous 3 questions. You should come up with a detailed plan and reasonable timeline.

WHERE? With a simple and personal project, this question sounds so easy. However if you are doing a project with others or if this is a community project then you need to think carefully where it will take place.

HOW? What are the actions? What are the steps? Which method you will use? (type of garden, way to plant, compost or not…)

Do your actions serve the objective of the project?

HOW MUCH? Which part will need money investment? Which part you can ask for free, make use of old materials or make your own to save money?

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Brainstorming This is a method to quickly mobilize students’ solutions in a certain time. This method will stimulate students to develop their own abilities, apply the experience to the participation process.

There are three options that trainers can choose to implement this method: OPTION 1: BRAINSTORM ALL-TOGETHER The trainer addresses a number of issues related to the topic “Zero-waste living” and asks questions to students. The trainer asks all students to present their ideas and ideas.

Notes when implementing this option: • Do not ignore any ideas of students; • Encourage all students to speak as many ideas as possible; • Turn quantity into quality. As the trainer raises more and more students’ ideas, the participants will want to participate; • Encourage students to develop and change their own and others’ ideas.

Trainer can come to agreement with students about the following regulation to initiate the most effective brainstorming: • Say everything that comes to mind; • Do not discuss and criticize the ideas of others; • It is possible to repeat ideas that have been proposed by others and propose development; • Encourage the expansion of ideas; • You can use the word “AND” to start adding new ideas.

Once the students have finished giving their ideas, the trainer discuss and evaluate the ideas that have just been proposed.

OPTION 2: BRAINSTORM IN PAIRS Trainers can use this option to encourage practical ideas and concrete action of the students. For example, give ideas on how to tackle urban plastic waste in urban households, or the idea of solving waste in the university.

The trainer will ask each student to spend three to five minutes thinking about their own ideas. Then,

40

ask each pair of students to share their ideas with each other for 3-5 minutes. Finally, the trainer suggested the pairs present the idea, and the trainer sum up ideas on the board.

OPTION 3: GLOBE OR CLUSTERS Trainers can use this option as a warm up. The keywords (questions) are written into a “little globe” in the middle of the blackboard or A1 / A2 paper. When discussing related issues, ideas are written down on a board or paper and have a hyphenation of relevance.

For example, the trainer asks students to share what they think of when they heard the word “zerowaste lifestyle”.

PART

03 Recommendation on training programs

42

In this part, we will introduce some action plan to apply the topic “Zero-waste lifestyle” into educational activities using the above methods. Trainers and teachers can change the plan according to their participants and condition.

Lesson plan – Waste is resource ON-CLASS LESSON Waste is a production resource that is used to help trainers and students to discuss ideas together for solving the problem of waste, especially agricultural and daily waste.

Learning objective • Participants have knowledge about the value of trash in agriculture • Participants have a more positive attitude about the value of garbage • Participants take concrete actions, get ideas for small projects that lead to a zero-waste lifestyle.

Form: Lecture combined with visual aids and experiential activity Duration: 90 minutes Agenda NO

CONTENT

DURATION

DETAILS

LOGISTICS

Game: artisan How: Make products from thrash -

Trainer

prepare

scrap

items:

newspapers, scrap cloth, paper cores, crayons, scissors, tapes, old magazines, scrap cloth, paper 1

Warm up

5-10 minutes

A4 cartons, etc.

cores, crayons,

- Ask groups to make toys, decorations scissors, tapes, old from the given materials ...

magazines, A4

- Note: make it quick, what important is cartons, etc. the idea, no need to be beautiful. Try not to generate extra waste from this activity Ask questions: What do you think of this game?

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NO

CONTENT

DURATION

DETAILS

LOGISTICS

Use brainstorming, ask question: What do you see from agricultural waste?

The 2

situation of agricultural

20 minutes

Encouraging

students

to

bring

up

international, Vietnamese and local issues;

Color paper Pens

- What are the opportunities associated

waste

with agricultural waste?

- What will students do with this opportunity?

- Break into groups, discussion about what - Stationery

3

Solution

45 minutes

they can do.

- Slide introduced

- Trainer provides more solutions

some more models

- Challenge: 07 days zero-waste

and solutions

Watch video: Sweden turned 99% thrash -

Video

Sweden

into money https://www.youtube.com/ turn 99% waste into watch?v=2zBCE8vkc2E

“money”

- Sum up main points 4

Summary

10

- Sum up action plans of participants

minutes

PRACTICAL EXERCISE This activity will help students to better understand the specific solutions to utilize waste. Students will directly practice and give sharing from this experience. .

Form Trainers can choose among the following exercises to practice: • Household waste treatment by mobile garbage lid; • Treating agricultural waste with red worms; • Make the dishwashing liquid from the garbage in the market.

Encourage teamwork.

Duration 30 minutes to practice and 4 – 12 weeks to harvest the result Learning objective • Give students more ideas of “zero-waste living”

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• Students has experience of handling waste by themselves • Has a group/personal plan after the exercise Direction of agriculture waste treatment by red worms Tools and materials • Red worms biomass: 10 kg • Stray or pot • Fruit scraps: watermelon Practice in groups: Trainer can divide groups following types of food for red worms, such as: • Group using rotten straw • Group using fruit from the market: watermelon, apple, banana peel,…

• Group using water hyacinth • Group using banana trunk Steps: 1. Introduction about red-worms 2. Guidance to grow red-worms in stray or pot at home 3. Guidance to use agriculture scrap: straw, sugarcane… as food for red-worms 4. Guidance to take care and make use of red-worms Brainstorming questions: 1. Is it the first time you grow red worms? If not, when was that?

2. Do think red worms can bring a bright scenario?

How to submit: Students can submit: - Photos of working process - Journal DATE OF FEEDING WORMS

PERFOOD SON WHO FEED WORMS

WEIGH (KG)

TEMPERATURE

BIOMASS BIOMASS HUMIDPH ITY

-- Personal experience Evaluation Give feedback, exchange ideas and comments for participants who did the exercise.

NOTE

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Field-trips With the topic “zero-waste lifestyle”, trainers have many options for fieldtrips such as: red-worm farm, person with good zero-waste practice, eco-garden.

You can choose the location based on: (1) Objective of the field-trip (2) Resources available: time, human, budget Following is a field-trip plan to a red-worm farm for students in Quang Nam • Location: red-worm farm in Thang Binh district, Quang Nam • Duration: half a day • Objective: - Students understand the value of red-worms in waste treatment - Students can practice how to grow red-worms - Students can relate the activity to themselves NO

CONTENT

DURATION

DETAILS Introduction about the farm

1

Introduction

30 minutes

Tour around the farm

- Practical use of agricultural and household waste as food for worms; 2

Practical activity

2 hours

- Practicing feeding red-worm to cattle and poultry; - Practical using products from red worms in cultivation; - Practicing making biological fertilizers from red worms.

- Sharing experience

3

Summary

30 minutes

- Questions - Personal plan

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Making personal plan Trainers motivate students to plan their individual actions to improve their capacity on the subject of zero-waste living. Individual plan may head towards understanding ideas, good practices related to zero-waste lifestyle; practice at home / university about what related to this topic.

Suggestions for the options below will help students visualize: (1) Build a signature village The countryside in Vietnam has many features to attract tourists such as peace, fresh air, cultural values, history, nature, environment, etc. If the village community know how to promote the feature in their village, many other issues related to waste management and enhancing quality of life will be improved.

Our pride of the country is always there. Therefore, how to promote this factor and to associate it with protecting the value of the village is the question. If the village becomes special in terms of values the village has, the waste management will be a valuable asset to the villagers themselves.

Villages in Hoi An are typical examples. People are aware that tourism require cleanliness. Tra Que Vegetable Village - Hoi An City has impressed visitors when traveling on the roads with no rubbish.

The peaceful village, growing vegetables throughout the year has attracted domestic and foreign tourists. People in the village have joined to promote this value more through the maintenance of environmental sanitation. As a result, the value of this village becomes even more special.

Another example is the Painting village (Bich Hoa village), Tam Thanh commune, Tam Ky city, Quang Nam province. This is a traditional fishing village. In the past, garbage was everywhere, tourists do not know this place and people’s lives are still dependent entirely on fishing.

However, the habitat in Bich Hoa village has changed completely as most of the houses leading into the village are painted with many different images. This has created a new space for this village.

Since then, many visitors know and have created a new flow of tourism for this place. As a result, the income of households increased due to the accompanying services such as keeping motorbikes, car rental, selling refreshment,... Being aware of the importance of village space, all people are more conscious in waste management. Domestic waste is collected and processed better. The village becomes more beautiful.

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(2) Waste will become production materials and rural areas is free of thrash Waste is a concept understood different by each person. If an object is not used and thrown away, it becomes garbage. However, if we use the object for other purposes, it is no longer garbage.

In fact, we can recycle or reuse most of the material disposed of in our daily lives. This can be applied directly to the household itself or to the relocation of other households who needs the materials that other household generates.

For example, we use tires to make children’s playgrounds, plant trees, or decorations in gardens or cafes; use plastic bottles to grow vegetables for limited land or living spaces; (3)

Say No!

Students can practice saying No and choose an action to spread over facebook. For example: Say No to plastic straw, plastic bags, sterofoam box (4)

Making bins for the community or university

(5)

Compose play and/or song about zero-waste

(6)

Organize in weekend fair selling handicrafts

(7)

Organize an exchange fair to trade old stuff for books or for seed funding.

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7-day challenge to switch to a zero-waste lifestyle, why not?

Source: Facebook Diên Đinh

Along with the strong development of society, the environmental pollution caused by domestic waste is becoming more common, polluting not only in urban areas but also in rural areas.

Today, Vietnam produces 12 million tons of waste daily. Every year the world releases about 2.5 to 4 billion tons of waste. This seriously affects the quality of the environment as well as the quality of life of people.

So what should we do to reduce the amount of waste each day?

Let’s explore this 7-day journey to convert to a zero-waste lifestyle.

DAY 1: SINGLE – USE PRODUCTS

Instead of plastic cups, disposable paper cups, use eco-friendly products

Every time we go to the market we bring home a lot of plastic bags.

When going out for drinks they give us plastic cups, paper cups with straws.

Buying food out, they even give foam box, not only plastic spoon, bamboo chopsticks. All are disposable.

Disposable products produce a huge amount of waste each day.

Therefore, the first principle is absolutely not to use disposable products.

Solution: Bring fabric bags and glass boxes to the market. Cloth bags for vegetables, glass containers for watery and meat.

Although it is quite bulky, get use to this habit will reduce plastics.

Go to the cafe also carry bottles to buy. If you are a ‘fan’ of straws, look for a bamboo or inox straw so you do not have to throw them away after using them.

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DAY 2: COMPOSTING Without plastic bags, what would we use to store organic waste while cooking?

Solution: Learn a simple way to do composting Step 1: Choose a composting box If you have a garden, dig a hole and put organic waste into it, cover it afterwards so that thrash can bio-degrade.

If not, you can pick a wooden or plastic box which a size relevant to the amount of waste in your house, dig a hole for water and air run off.

Step 2: Choose where to place the box Place it where water can run off. It’s better to place it on earthen floor than cement floor. Or you can put it on the balcony to attract more sunlight and not pollute space inside the house.

Step 3: Waste classification Providing nunitions to plants is very important, in which carbon and nitrogen is irreplaceable to the development of plants.

We can divide organic waste into 2 types: green provides nitrogen and brown provides carbon.

GREEN

BROWN

PLANTS

FOOD SCRAPS

HAIR

GRASS CLIPP INGS

MANURE

COFFEE

STRAW,

CLOTH SCRAPS,

NEWSPAPERS, TOILET PAPERS

SAWDUST

TEABAGS

EGG SHELLS

Note: do not choose waste from meat, egg, milk, fish or processed food for composting because they can cause pollution and harm the good bacteria

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Step 4: Composting One layer of organic waste followed by one thin layer of soil, sometimes mix them up and keep the humidity level of 40% - 60%, after a month you will have compost.

What needed for composting: organic matters, humidity, oxygen, micro-organism.

DAY 3: REPLACING CHEMICALS

Lemon, gleditsia and soap nut are substitutes for chemical products

Every month, there are many bottles for shampoo, shower gel ... are discharged into the environment.

So one thing to change is to stop using these chemicals.

Not only that, the plastic micro-beads in the shampoo, toothpaste or cleanser are very toxic both to the environment and to ourselves.

Solution: Replace the detergents with natural products.

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If you feel uncomfortable, you should buy natural products in credible stores.

If you have time, make the natural products at home with family members.

DAY 4: PLASTICS AND PACKAGING

A huge amount of waste comes from these packaging

Solution: Change plastic containers to glass to be environmentally friendly and safe for your health.

Use bamboo brushes, bamboo straws instead of plastic ones.

The principle is to replace all household waste products into longer-lasting and friendlier materials.

Also, limit the use of packaged food.

Instead of buying what’s already packed, take time to cook your own meals at home. Gradually you will get used to it and improve your cooking skills.

DAY 5: WASTE CLASSIFICATION ORGANIC WASTE

INORGANIC WASTE

Waste when not being classified, but put together it is very easy to pollute the environment.

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When handling all types of waste, it is easy to cause chemical or physical reactions that are dangerous to human beings and the environment.

So, it is better to sort out waste so that they are treated the best way.

Solution: There are two types of waste: organic waste and inorganic waste.

Organic waste, you can compost.

Inorganic waste is divided into three types: (1) recyclable (paper, metal, spongy, plastic bottles); (2) toxic waste (mercury, fluorescent bulbs) and those that need to be destroyed or buried; (3) Electronic waste (battery, telephone...).

For each type of thrash, look for suitable disposal methods such as selling to be recycled, treated in specialized collection...

DAY 6: RECYCLE, REUSE

Recycled products are environmentally friendly

Around us there are many things that can be recycled or reused instead of being thrown away.

But few people care about it rather than just want to throw them out of the house as soon as possible when they are no longer as valuable.

Solution: Learn and recycle old items such as clothes, bottles... into new, useful things to continue using, contributing to reduce the amount of waste to the environment.

DAY 7: THINK AND DO Always think about what you can change in your daily life to minimize waste and protect the environment.

When buying something, think about where it comes from, and where it will go after.

From then on, we learn the habit of finding environmentally-friendly products that can replace what we usually use.

Because only when you think and act, our environment can be green - clean - beautiful.

PART

04 Reference

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1. Center for Development of Community Initiative and Environment (C&E), 2016, Ecological lifestyle: trainer guidebook 2. Center for Development of Community Initiative and Environment (C&E), 2017, Guidebook on integration of ecological lifestyle into educational program for youth (Topic: Sustainable water use, Sustainable food consumption, Responsible tourism) 3. Center for Development of Community Initiative and Environment (C&E), Action Center for the City Development (ACCD) 2013, We learn to live green, Education publisher 4. Center of Dictionary, 2017, Vietnamese Dictionary, Đà Nẵng publisher.

5. David McKay, 2012, Eco-city Indicators, Oregon Planner Magazine, issue November and December 6. Dean Thompson, 2009, Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City: A case study of an emergin eco-city in China, The World Bank.

7. English – Vietnamese and Vietnamese-English Environmental Dictionary, Science and Technology Publisher, Hà Nội, 1995.

8. Hiroaki Suzuki & nnk (2010), Eco2 cities: Ecological cities as economic cities, The World Bank.

9. Hoornweg, Daniel with Laura Thomas, 1999, What A Waste: Solid Waste Management in Asia, Working Paper Series Nr. 1. Urban Development Sector Unit. East Asia and Pacific Region. Page 5 10. MONRE, 2015, National Environment Status Report 2011-2015, Ban Do publisher.

11. MONRE, 2016, National Environment Status Report 2016 – Section: Urban environment 12. Prof.PhD. Nguyễn Văn Phước, 2008, Textbook: Solid waste treatment and management, Xay Dung publisher.

13. Trương Minh Đến, 2016, Guidebook on technique of growing red worms environmentally friendly 14. Trương Minh Đến, 2016, Guidebook on technique of rural waste treatment

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REFERENCE FROM WEBSITE 1. https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%E1%BA%A5t_th%E1%BA%A3i 2. http://www.baoxaydung.com.vn/news/vn/the-gioi/kinh-nghiem-quan-ly-va-xu-ly-rac-thaitren-the-gioi.html 3. http://infonet.vn/the-gioi-xu-ly-rac-thai-nhu-the-nao-post210990.info 4. http://tapchimattran.vn/the-gioi/rac-thai-thach-thuc-moi-truong-nghiem-trong-tren-toancau-7077.html 5. http://baochinhphu.vn/Du-lich/Hoi-An-xay-dung-thanh-pho-sinh-thai/318486.vgp 6. http://freepdfs.net/kien-tao-mot-thanh-pho-sinh-thai-kinh-nghiem-portland-va-h-psu/813ed59 841879b777240932aaf31cd1e/ 7. https://sohoa.vnexpress.net/photo/doi-song-so/noi-lam-viec-lon-nhat-mien-trung-cua-ky-suphan-mem-3391023.html 8. https://baomoi.com/tap-chi-gia-dinh-moi-gia-dinh-moi/p/350.epi 9. http://www.sokhoahoccongnghe.phutho.gov.vn/TinTuc/Tintuc_Detail.aspx?ID=1669

PART

05 Appendix

LIVING A GREEN LIFE BY REDUCING PLASTIC WASTE According to reports by the United Nations, the amount of plastic waste produced every year around the world is enough to cover the planet Earth four times.

Each minute, there are 1,000

plastic bags consumed but only 27% of them are processed and recycled. Plastic waste lies on the ocean floor and becomes food poisoning marine life.

The disaster of “White pollution” at popular tourist sites has become increasingly alarming.

Statistically, Vietnam has currently been ranked 4th in the world for plastic waste with the yearly disposal of 730,000 tons of plastic waste to the ocean.

(Source: https://monremedia.vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/bao-dong-o-nhiem-rac-thai-nhua-191.html) Saying no to plastic may sound difficult but feasible if you start by changing your daily routines. If we are unable to remove plastic completely from our life, we can reduce our plastic consumption starting with the following nine habits to pursue a green lifestyle.

(Photo: The organik house, translation: C&E)

1. ALWAYS BRING OUR REUSABLE BAGS When we go to the supermarket and grocery store, we bring home dozens of plastic bags because they are convenient and free of charge.

However, all of them will be discharged into the environment and become garbage because they are not usually reused. Moreover, they take about 500 years to decompose, thereby having adverse impacts on the environment.

Meanwhile, there are other types of bags that can be reused and create less waste. Always bring cloth bag for shopping instead of plastic bags available at stores to help protect the environment.

Bring cloth bags for shopping - Photo: Xanh shop

2. REDUCE PLASTIC CONTAINERS Glass and metal containers can be used to replace plastic containers to store nuts, spices, food, even soap, shower gel, laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid.

However, do not throw away our plastic containers. We can continue to use them if they are in good conditions and only dispose of them when they are no longer usable to reduce waste.

Glass storage containers - Photo: Pinterest

3. BRING OUR “UTENSIL KITS” Wooden chopsticks, spoons, straws, food trays and a reusable bottle of water can help remove disposable items in your life.

“Restaurants and bars around the world are getting familiar with their customers bringing their utensil kit”, said Jay Sinha, co-founder of an online store called Life Without Plastic.

Reusable utensil set - Photo: tiki

4. BUY IN BULK If we buy packaged foods, we should not do that sporadically but consider buying in bulk to reduce packages. We can also bring glass containers to buy foods from the market. However, remember to plan the quantity in case of overload and waste.

Shopping in bulk - Photo: Kênh 14

5. BUY SECOND-HAND PRODUCTS

Many widely used devices and household appliances are mainly made of plastic. Before deciding to buy a new washing machine or vacuum cleaner, we may consider buy second-hand items, Beth Terry, author of My Life - Free Life blog, recommended.

This saves money, limit the production and consumption of new plastic and avoid packaging which creates more Buying second-hand stuff - Photo: Kênh 14

waste.

6. REUSE AND RECYCLE PLASTIC Single-used transparent bottles, shampoo bottles, yogurt pots, toys and food containers stand higher chance of being recycled.

Meanwhile, disposable knives, spoons, forks, wrapping film, coffee cups and lids are usually only used once and their chance of being recycled is very low. Therefore, it is necessary to limit the purchase and production of these products.

Recycling plastic bottles - Photo: Pinterest

7. WEAR NATURAL FIBER CLOTHING According to Sinha, synthetic fiber is the main factor of micro-plastic pollution which seriously affects the environment, especially oceans and human health.

Choosing natural fabrics such as cotton, wool, hemp and silk will help to solve the problem.

Say goodbye to synthetic fabrics Photo: Kênh 14

8. MAKE OUR SANITARY PRODUCTS TAs most hygiene products are packed in plastic bottles and contain micro-plastic particles, Chantal Plamondon, a founder of Life Without Plastic, decided to become a home chemist.

“We make our own toothpaste with baking soda, coconut oil and essential oils. We make lotions from coconut oil or macadamia oil”, said Plamondon.

DIY tooth powder by Hoàng Ngọc Phố Photo: Facebook Hoàng Ngọc Phố

9. LIVE WITHOUT PLASTIC Before we take actions or change our habits, it is the most important to change our perceptions.

Ultimately, before making any shopping decision, ask ourselves: Can we live without this plastic product to reduce plastic waste?

Making wise choices for shopping Photo: Kenh14

Source: https://news.zing.vn/bat-dau-song-xanh-voi-9cach-lam-giam-rac-thai-nhua-post926800.html

The Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, not for every man’s greed - Mahatma Gandhi -