Management of Change Course – Research Project 2019

Plastic Waste change initiative

The Problem

An approximate 8 mln tonnes of plastics are dumped in the Ocean, and around 80% comes from 5
countries: China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam (EcoWatch, 2018) .

It's projected that by 2025 plastic consumption in Asia will increase by an 80 per cent and will reach
around 200 million tons. If urgent steps are not taken our Ocean could contain one ton of plastic for
every 3 three tons of fish (McKinsey, ) . The reason of such situation is due to the increasing
economic growth of these 5 countries, the consequent increased of consumption due to improved
living conditions and purchasing powers of the average population, and an inadequate waste
management infrastructure to tackle this increased wave of waste.

Among others, there is the need to address these challenges by adopting adequate and timely
solutions at local level, leading to reduce plastic waste (McKinsey, ):

- Enhancement of collection services

- Closing leakage points in collection facilities
- Gasification by converting waste into fuel
- Materials Recycling Facilities (MRF) recycling systems by diverting valuable plastic from
waste steams

Looking at Vietnam, plastic waste is increasing due to economic and population growth, aggregate
levels of consumption and urbanization. The industrialization process also adds on the accumulation
of different sort of waste. In HCMC is estimated that the amount of total waste collected per day is
around 7,500 tons (DONRE, 2016), with a predicted increase of 7 to 8% growth per year. The
challenge for HCMC is that waste management is mainly in the hands of the informal sector, which is
inadequate to cope with the current trends of waste increase. The informality of waste
management leads to the incapacity to assess the actual state of HCM waste collection thus to
identify the best strategies to enhance the overall waste management cycle, from collection to
segregation to treatment and recycling (Kieu Le, Strady & Perset, 2016).

The aim of this research project is to investigate the current status of plastic waste and its life cycle
in Ho Chi Minh. The project will be implemented during the course of Management of Change
lectured by Nika Salvetti under her supervision and the academic tutor Ms Uyen Hoang.

Research objectives

1. To determine the extent of the plastic waste challenge. Its causes and impacts.
2. To explain the need for change. Analysis of the problem.
3. To identify the bottlenecks along the supply change of plastic waste.
4. To determine the potential expected impacts of change at individual, industrial and societal
level.
5. To share recommendations and possible solutions to address the challenge of plastic waste
in Vietnam.
Research topics

• The plastic industry of Vietnam (Who is producing plastic? Who are the biggest users of
plastic? What are the current challenges and opportunities of the Plastic Industry?)

• Plastic Waste in Vietnam (What type of plastic waste is predominant in VN? What is the
waste chain? What are the current waste systems in place?)

• Collection system (How does it work? Who are the main collectors? What are the collection
centres?)

• Segregation system (Who segregates waste? What are the challenges of segregation?)

• Recycling system (What are the recycling centres? Where are they located? What is the
missing link in the supply chain of plastic?)

• Waste Management (How is the plastic waste management structure operates? Who is
managing waste? What waste management systems are functioning in VN?)

• Practical solutions and recommendations for managing change: From the fourth biggest
plastic polluter to a positive plastic economy contributor
Guidelines and sources of information per research topic:

1. The plastic Industry analysis

2. Typology of plastic waste in HCMC
3. Collection system of plastic waste
4. Segregation system of plastic waste
5. Recycling system and processes
6. Waste management cycle
7. Practical solutions and recommendations (at each stage)

1. The plastic Industry Analysis

Guiding research questions:

 How does the plastic industry operate?

 Who are the most influential companies operating in VN? (National and Foreigners)
 What’s the market share of the plastic industry?
 What are the challenges and opportunities it is currently facing?

Source:

Website/plasticindustryvietnam

Ministry of Environment, Economy and Industry (DataBase)

Vietnam Chamber of Commerce

Forums/Conference proceedings, etc.

2. Typology of plastic waste in HCMC

Guiding research questions:

 What is the general composition of plastics?

 What are the most recyclables and decomposable?
 What are the types of plastics ending in the landfills and incineration which don’t have
recyclable use?

Sources:

Websites/Plastics

IUCN, UNEP, McArthur Foundation

Ministry of Natural Resources, MONRE;

Department of Natural Resources, DONRE

Ministry of Environment
University of Technology, UTEH

3. Collection system of plastic waste

Guiding research questions:

 Who is collecting what? (Formal versus informal systems of collection)

 How is the collection system operating in HCM?
 What are the main collection centres?
 What are the current challenges of collection?

Sources:

Websites/collection systems Vietnam

CITENCO

Department of Natural Resources (DONRE)

4. Segregation system of plastic waste

Guiding research questions:

• How does the segregation system work in HCMC?

• Who segregates waste? At what different level?

• What are the main destinations of segregated Plastic waste?

• What are the challenges of segregation?

Source:

Websites/Segregation in Vietnam

IUCN, UNEP

World business case studies of scavengers activities

CITENCO

5. Recycling system and processes

Guiding research questions:

• What are the most recycled plastics items?

• What does recycling process produce?

• What are the RMP – Recycling centres? How many are in HCMC district, where are they
located?

• Who is recycling?
 • What are the missing links in the recycling supply chain?

Sources:

Websites/Recycling processes, recycling in Vietnam

Vietnam Chamber of Commerce

Ministry of Environment, Industry

DONRE, MONRE

6. Waste management cycle

Guiding research questions:

• How is the plastic waste management structure operates? (Public and Private)

• What waste management systems are functioning in VN? (Landfills, dumps, incineration,
etc.)

• How does the treatment of waste operate?

• Where is waste allocated? In which ratios?

Sources:

Websites/Plastic waste management (globally and in Vietnam)

IUCN, UNEP

Monre, Donre, Citenco

UTEH, RMIT

7. Practical solutions and recommendations (at each stage)

For each research topic, general practical solutions and recommendations should be proposed in
order to emphasize how ‘management of change of plastic waste’ is implemented.