On September 23, 2023, Damen Song Cam Shipyard Co. Ltd (DSCS) in collaboration with the Center for Supporting Green Development (GreenHub) and the People's Committee of Lam Dong Commune organized the Launching Ceremony of the project: "Piloting the Circular Economy Model in Waste Management in Lam Dong Commune, Thuy Nguyen District, Hai Phong City", marking the first step in the effort to support Lam Dong Commune in improving the quality of solid waste management in the locality. The launching ceremony took place with the participation of the sponsor Damen Song Cam Shipyard Co. Ltd, the project host Center for Supporting Green Development (GreenHub), in coordination with the People's Committee of Lam Dong Commune and related parties.

Currently, Lam Dong Commune is facing some difficulties in managing domestic solid waste, protecting the environment and raising people's awareness of waste. Aiming to improve the waste management system in Lam Dong commune, enhance the capacity of local people in the commune on waste and environmental protection, reduce the amount of waste going to landfills or leaking into the environment and minimize environmental pollution in the commune area, the project is designed with 4 components as follows:

Component 1: Building a Database and creating a Cooperation Platform in Waste Management, which is the basis for supporting the current and future waste management mechanism.

Component 2: Increasing awareness, capacity and changing the behavior of Lam Dong commune residents on waste management and zero waste practices.

Component 3: Improving the efficiency of waste management through connecting the waste classification and collection chain and circular economy pilot models.

Component 4: Evaluating pilot models and documenting, sharing lessons learned and transferring results

Mr. Joris Van Tienen - General Director, representative of Damen Song Cam Shipyard Co., Ltd. shared: "Damen Song Cam Shipyard Co., Ltd. has been associated with Hai Phong City and Thuy Nguyen District for more than 20 years. Besides production and business activities, we see our responsibility as joining hands with the locality in environmental protection, contributing to building a clean and beautiful environment here. We continue to prioritize sustainable economic development".

Mr. Pham Dinh Thinh - Vice Chairman, Representative of Lam Dong Commune People's Committee shared: "Currently, waste has not received due attention from families, most people think that anything that cannot be used should be thrown away. People's mentality is that waste classification is done by the waste management unit. However, with the huge amount of waste collected every day, classification is even more difficult, causing overload for the commune's landfill".

Ms. Tran Thi Hoa - Director of the Center for Supporting Green Developmen (GreenHub) shared: “This project comes at the right time, at the right moment, when localities are struggling to know how to implement Waste Classification according to the Law on Environmental Protection 2020.”

“Nearly 90% of the collected recyclable waste is from the informal force, which we often call ‘scrap’. However, they have not received any support mechanism from the state, so this project is an opportunity to strengthen public-private cooperation, supporting the informal collection force in the commune” - Associate Professor. Dr. Nguyen Chu Hoi - Vice President of the Vietnam Fisheries Association shared more about the difficulties of scrap collectors.

Do Thi Huong - Deputy Head of the Environmental Protection Department, Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Hai Phong City sharred: "With 35 communes and 02 towns, Thuy Nguyen district discharges an average of 220 tons/day, Lam Dong commune alone is 5 tons/day. I hope that through the Project, the amount of waste in Lam Dong commune will be reduced to 2 tons/day, and these 2 tons will be recycled/reused as reasonably as possible, this is also the circular economic model mentioned in the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection".

"Discharge like this, waste, emissions, wastewater are everywhere, what will be left for the next generation?" – Ms. Tran Kim Thoa – Director of ISO Solution Consulting & Training Co., Ltd., former Head of Damen Song Cam Company, was concerned when talking about the level of pollution from heavy industries. "But this is also the motivation for Damen Song Cam Company to commit to fulfilling its responsibility to the community. In the project “Piloting Circular Economy Model in Waste Management in Lam Dong Commune, Thuy Nguyen District, Hai Phong City”, Damen Song Cam Company is not only a sponsor, but also a companion in implementing the project."

Ms. Dinh Thu Hang - Project Coordinator at GreenHub Green Development Support Center shared about the 4 phases of the project that will be implemented.

On the basis of accompanying local people from August 2023 to December 2024, the project focuses on building a long-term and sustainable foundation with the surrounding community, for community development in parallel with social investment, creating a strong impact on people's awareness of environment.