From scrap collector to climate warrior: How a Vietnamese app is empowering women

Author: Thao Hoang

Hanoi, Viet nam —Every morning, before the city awakens, 38-year-old Ngô Thị Thu pushes her handcart through the alleys of Mễ Trì Thượng, a ward in the Vietnamese capital of Ha Noi. For more than a decade, Thu has made her living collecting recyclable waste – plastic bottles, metal scraps, broken electronics, etc. To most, she is a scrap collector. But with a simple tap on her aging smartphone, Thu becomes something more – a contributor to Viet Nam’s climate goals.

Thu uses Waznet, a mobile application designed to record the waste she collects.

“I never thought picking up scrap could help protect the climate,” she said at an UN Women-workshop in June 2025. “But now, I see that every bottle I can collect means fewer emissions, cleaner air and recognition for our work.”

Viet Nam is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, already experiencing rising sea levels, erratic weather, and severe flooding and droughts. In 2020, the country’s greenhouse gas emissions reached approximately 370 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent, primarily from energy, agriculture and waste sectors.

At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in (COP26), Viet Nam pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 – an ambitious target that requires action across all sectors, including informal and often invisible labour forces like Thu.

Today, an estimated 3 million informal waste collectors in Viet Nam quietly help reduce emissions by diverting recyclables from landfills, preventing methane release and extending the life cycle of materials. Yet, for years, their contributions have remained undocumented and unrecognized in national climate strategies.

To bridge that gap, the Center for Environment and Community Research, with support from UN Women and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) under the EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies programme, developed Waznet – the first mobile application in Viet Nam designed specifically for measuring the CO₂ reduced by informal women waste collectors and households.

Through Waznet, users like Thu can log the type and quantity of recyclable materials they collect each day. These data are aggregated into verifiable metrics that contribute to Viet Nam’s national greenhouse gas inventories and climate reporting.

During a 7-day pilot, 15 women waste collectors and six households in Ha Noi recorded a total of 86 tons of recyclables, preventing an estimated 38 tons of CO₂ emissions. Encouraged by these results, the initiative is expanding. Hundreds of women across Thái Bình and Hà Tĩnh provinces have now adopted the app, scaling both its reach and impact.

But Waznet does more than collect data – it empowers women with recognition, dignity and a voice. Once seen as performing low-skilled labour, women waste collectors are now as vital contributors to Viet Nam’s climate action plans, including its goal to reduce emissions from the waste sector by 18.3 per cent by 2030, as outlined in the country’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions.

Crucially, the data collected through Waznet goes beyond measuring CO₂ emissions. It provides insights for policymakers- informing the development of more inclusive, gender-responsive actions. It also helps recognize the leadership and contributions of women in climate action – especially those working in the informal sector.

“This app gives us proof that we’re helping the environment. It motivates me to keep going,” Thu says.

Caroline Nyamayemombe, UN Women Representative in Viet Nam, praised the community-driven model: “Waznet is a testament to how digital solutions, when rooted in lived experiences, can transform women’s roles in climate leadership. Despite challenges in smartphone access and digital literacy, Waznet is proving that even basic technology, when designed inclusively, can bridge the gap between grass-roots action and national climate goals. If scaled nationally, the app could make a measurable contribution to Viet Nam’s net-zero target by 2050.”

Regionally, the initiative is gaining attention. Parimita Mohanty, Programme Manager at UNEP Asia and the Pacific, hailed it as “a local innovation with global value.”

Looking ahead, UN Women and UNEP will continue collaborating with partners, including the Viet Nam Women’s Union, civil society and others to expand Waznet’s adoption and impact.