The world produces over 400 million tons of plastic waste annually, and much of it ends up clogging rivers, seas, and ecosystems — or choking landfills in lower-income countries. Viet Nam, one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies, has become a hotspot of plastic consumption. Viet Nam accounts for 1.8 million tonnes annually, and roughly 27% of that is recycled, write Kaiser Kuo Writer, World Economic Forum, and host of the Sinica Podcast and Kateryna Gordiychuk Social Video Producer, Creative Content, World Economic Forum.

Behind nearly 90% of all plastic recycled in Viet Nam is someone like Ms Nguyen Thi Kenh or Ms Nguyen Thi Lanh, pushing a heavy cart through narrow alleyways, picking through household waste, often without gloves or other protective gear.