Over the past two decades, residents of Thuong Phuc village in Nam Dinh province have quietly transformed their lives by leaving rice fields behind to embrace a livelihood many once overlooked  -  scrap collection. What started as a means of survival has now built homes, sustained families, and powered local economies, proving that prosperity sometimes comes from the most unassuming professions.

About 90% of Vietnam’s packaging waste collection is handled by informal workers  -  often called dong nat (scrap collectors). These individuals, operating outside formal systems, outcompete professional recycling firms thanks to lower operational costs. Their work, though often invisible and undervalued, plays a crucial role in the country’s recycling infrastructure.

A village finds a new trade

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A scrap-collecting neighborhood in Ho Chi Minh City, where many women earn a living buying and selling used metal, paper, and plastic. Some have worked in this trade for decades. (Photo: Thanh Tung)

Two decades ago, residents of Thuong Phuc village (Xuan Thuong commune, formerly in Xuan Truong District, Nam Dinh province) began leaving behind agricultural life. Migrating to major cities like Hanoi, they sought better-paying jobs beyond the rice paddies.

One of the most viable paths turned out to be scrap collection  -  buying recyclable waste to sell for reuse. Today, an estimated 70% of villagers aged 30 to 60 are involved in this line of work. Over time, many returned to the village to build solid houses from their earnings.

Now, the second generation (F1) continues the trade, but with a twist  -  many have become private scrap yard owners. Pham Quang Dai (born in 1990), a representative of this new generation, no longer collects scrap himself. Thanks to years of networking, regular collectors now deliver materials directly to his facility in Thanh Tri, Hanoi.

“Once sorted and consolidated, the recyclables are sent to factories in Bac Ninh for processing. Families with trucks deliver it themselves, but most yards sell it through larger middlemen,” said Dai.

The informal giant behind Vietnam's recycling

Vietnam’s recycling economy heavily depends on the dong nat network. Recyclables often pass through several layers of intermediaries before reaching actual recycling centers.

According to Bui Le Thanh Khiet, Head of the Circular Economy Group on Plastic Waste at the Institute for Development Studies of Circular Economy, more than 90% of packaging waste is collected by informal or self-employed workers. In contrast, official channels account for a very small fraction of the work.

Recycling often takes place in unlicensed backyard facilities, contributing significantly to environmental pollution. While formal companies must comply with environmental protection laws, informal players do not, giving them a cost advantage in buying scrap materials.

Don’t treat scrap collectors as adversaries

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Scrap collection plays a vital role in Vietnam’s recycling activities. (Photo: Thanh Tung)

Chu Thi Kim Thanh, Operations Director of PRO Vietnam (Packaging Recycling Organization), noted that in recent years many traditional recycling craft villages in northern Vietnam have been dissolved. The new vision is to build formal industrial recycling clusters. Collection practices will need to become more structured to feed these future facilities.

“Around 80% of recyclable waste enters the system through scrap collectors. They are indispensable,” she said.

From January 1, 2024, under the 2020 Environmental Protection Law and Decree 08/2022, manufacturers and importers of lubricants, batteries, tires, and commercial packaging must either recycle directly or contribute financially to recycling efforts through the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mechanism.

PRO Vietnam suggests part of this EPR funding should be channeled to the dong nat network  -  turning them into a formal extension of Vietnam’s recycling ecosystem.

Nguyen Thanh Yen, Deputy Head of Legal and Policy at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, shares this perspective. He emphasized the need for government and businesses to integrate informal collectors into formal systems.

“This profession supports thousands of livelihoods. Rather than viewing them as adversaries, businesses should treat scrap collectors as partners  -  small but critical players,” said Yen.

Instead of allowing them to sell to unlicensed recycling facilities, major corporations like Dong Tien and Duy Tan could build partnerships, purchasing directly from these informal networks. In doing so, scrap collectors would gain access to EPR funds or receive subsidies from Vietnam’s Environmental Protection Fund to offset the cost differences between formal and informal operations.

A complex system of choice and survival

From his experience as an informal scrap yard owner, Dai explained that Vietnam’s recycling collection system is highly fragmented and spontaneous. Many small players operate independently, choosing whom to sell to based on price competitiveness.

“It’s like trying to eliminate makeshift street markets. The government has tried for years, but they still exist,” Dai said, hinting at the difficulty of formalizing the dong nat ecosystem.

Without strong incentives and a supportive framework, it remains an uphill battle to integrate informal collectors into the regulated recycling system.

Tran Chung