In Vietnam's bustling e-waste market, informal recyclers play a vital role

The informal recycling market in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City showcases how e-waste is managed, with workers salvaging what they can to mitigate environmental harm.

Aniruddha Ghosal and Jae C. Hong report for the Associated Press.

In short:

• E-waste is filling up landfills at an alarming rate, with Asian countries generating almost half of the 62 million metric tons produced globally in 2022.
• Despite rising e-waste, proper recycling systems are scarce, leaving informal workers to collect waste, exposing them to health hazards.
• Collaboration between informal and formal sectors is seen as a potential solution to improve efficiency and safety in e-waste management.

Key quote:

“We are currently generating e-waste at an unprecedented rate.”

— Garam Bel, e-waste officer at the U.N.’s International Telecommunication Union

Why this matters:

Managing e-waste is crucial for public health and environmental safety, and integrating informal recyclers into the formal sector could help optimize resource recovery while protecting workers from hazardous conditions. Read more: Electronic waste from just this year will outweigh the Great Wall of China.