Trash collection process

1. Importance of an effective trash collection process Trash collection is the process of picking up all the trash that has been separated and delivering to processing locations. Although our project focuses on creating a habit of separating trash from Vietnamese people, trash collection process still plays an important role due to several reasons. Firstly, without an effective trash collection process, our separated trash would not be delivered to processing locations, resulting in trash unprocessed. This would cause a bad consequence on the environment, which we are trying to protect. Secondly, without an effective trash collection process, our project would not be convincing to people and the government, as there is no point in separating trash when separated trash could not be processed. It is one of the main issues some other previous trash separation promotional programs faced, as these programs only tried to encourage people to separate trash while having no plan to process the separated trash. Another reason for our emphasis on trash collection process is our intention to cooperate with Da Phuoc garbage treatment facility, the only facility that is currently capable of processing separated trash in Ho Chi Minh City. As mentioned in some other sections in this proposal, a good cooperation is one of the keystones for the success of our project. However, Da Phuoc is only a trash processing facility and it does not have any trash delivery system on hand. Thus, in order for Da Phuoc to process our separated trash, it is important for us to obtain and maintain an effective trash delivery system. We also believe such a system would be very appealing to Da Phuoc to join our project. Moreover, trash collection process is not an easy one to set up. Usually it involves a lot of steps, which could be seen later in this section and other sections, and incurs a very high cost. As a result, it would be very difficult to change a trash collection process. An instance of such difficulty could be seen from Ho Chi Minh Citys effort to change its trash collecting system. Although this was a partial change, it had created many controversies that are very hard to solve (1). Realizing this reality, we want to set up an effective trash collection process right at the beginning of our project, thus reducing the burden of changing this process in the future. 2. Characterizations of an effective trash collection process Below are several characterizations of an effective trash collection process that we try to achieve: Ensure that all separated trash is delivered completely to the right processing locations Ensure that all separated trash is delivered in a timely manner that is agreed upon by the team, the processing locations and other stakeholders. Is cost-effective Flexible for necessary adjustment Expandable Is legal and governmentally approved Is environmentally friendly

Does not create any controversies from the society, especially from the communities involved in the delivery process Receive good feedbacks from the media and the government 3. Trash collection models for Phase 1 of our project As discussed in other sections of this proposal, phase 1 of our project will be promoting trash separation in limited locations, such as department stores and commercial centers. Thus, our trash collection process in this phase will focus on delivering separated trash from these locations to the processing centers, intended to be at Da Phuoc facilities. Given the scale of the trash delivery system in this phace, currently there are three models for us to consider: a. Model 1: Rely on private trash collectors Private trash collectors play an important role in the trash collection system in Ho Chi Minh City. In fact they accounted for more than 80% of the workforce in the system. Thus, the first idea is to rely on those existing forces for our trash collection system, preferably those currently working along the way from the commercial centers to Da Phuoc. We will only provide guidelines, supervision and equipment assistance and let them carry out the process. Advantages: It is very cheap doing this way, as the price for trash collection in Ho Chi Minh City is around 15,000 20,000 VND/ family /month. We could bargain the price for us to be around 300,000 500,000 VND / location / month. These private collectors have experience and good understanding of the trash collection process They have their own equipment ready, reducing the cost for new equipment Their work is already approved by the city so the legal process would be reduced. In addition some of them may already deal with Da Phuoc and could help us make Da Phuoc join our project.

Disadvantages: These private collectors work in very small groups and do not belong to a single organization. It will be difficult to coordinate them to work under our system. It will be a challenge to persuade them to join our project since they have been used to work in a certain area. These private collectors have had no exposure to trash separation so training and guidelines will be necessary. In addition, these people are usually those who do not good education backgrounds, which will be a challenge for training. Although they have existing collecting vehicles, these are usually very simple and not adequate for environmentally friendly standard. Equipment assistance will be required.

Implementation: Core members in Vietnam contact these private collectors, persuading them to join our projects and drafting contracts Core members draft the detailed trash collection plan Core members get the plan approved by commercial center partners and Da Phuoc Legal members work with the government and get the plan approved Core members in Vietnam discuss further with private collectors, drafting training and equipment assistance plan Core members review the plan and sign the contract with private collectors and other stakeholders Start training process End training process. Start trash collection system. Supervisory members start overseeing the whole system and make periodic reports to core members and other stakeholders Adjustments if necessary

b. Model 2: Hiring government-owned company, such as Cong ty moi truong do thi Beside private collectors, there are a couple of companies working in trash collection, most notable Cong ty moi truong do thi. These companies play many roles in the current trash collecting system of the city, such as collecting trash from private collectors and deliver to garbage facility or proving collection service for large buildings and public locations. The next idea is to hire these companies to carry out our trash collection system. Advantages: Contrast to private collectors model, this model employs workers from large companies so it is easier to monitor the system The existing equipment of these companies is standardized and modern comparing to those of private collectors. The need for equipment assistance will be minimal. Since these companies are government owned, dealing with government later will be easier These companies may have exposure to trash separation and processing. They are also more professional than private collectors. The need for training, therefore, will be reduced. Their trash collecting method seems more environmentally friendly than that of private collectors Potentially making it easier to get approved from commercial center partners and Da Phuoc

Disadvantages: High cost Process of persuading them to join the project may be challenging They have their own policies and may not be flexible to adapt to our own plan

Implementation: Legal members and other core members contact these companies and start negotiating After getting some agreements, start drafting contracts and plan Legal member try to get approved from the city Core members propose plan and try to get approved from commercial center partners and Da Phuoc After getting all approvals, finish negotiations with the companies and sign the contract Start the collection process. Supervisory members monitor the process and produce period reports to core members and other stakeholders. Adjustments if necessary

c. Model 3: Developing our own trash collecting team Based on the need to monitor and control the trash collection process, we come up with the third idea for our system, making our own team to be in charge of this process. This will allow us to have a full control over the process and be able to make any adjustments. Advantages: Extreme flexibility and full control Easy to coordinate all the members in the process Easy to make adjustments

Disadvantages: Potential high cost Time-consuming to find members and set up the team Training and equipment assistance will be required Need a carefully designed plan to get approved from the partners, Da Phuoc and the government

Implementation: Core members recruit people for this team. May coordinate with some existing programs in Vietnam. Finish the list of members for this team and start orientation. Core members and legal members draft plan and try to get approved from all the stakeholders After getting approval, start training process Core members take care of equipment assistance Finish training process and start trash collection process. Supervisory members monitor the process and produce periodic reports to core members and other stakeholders Adjustments if necessary

4. Other things for consideration When designing our trash collection process, we need to take care of some other factors. Many of those factors come from other components of the project. Some suggestions for those factors to be considered: Locations and number of commercial center partners: it will determine the scale of our process (e.g. single line vs. multi-line) Estimate of amount of separated trash collected: also determine the scale of our process Potential assistance from Da Phuoc, our partner and the government Potential coordination with existing non-profit organizations in Vietnam (e.g. Doan Thanh nien, universities) Types of trash collected and accepted by Da Phuoc Availability of core members Legal system in Vietnam Our budget Expected length of phase 1 of the project Opinions from our advisors