On the morning of September 19th, Center for Adaptive Capacity Building (CAB), in cooperation with the local authorities presented some essential items to 300 waste pickers at the Khanh Son landfill, Lien Chieu district, Da Nang city. It is reported that Khanh Son landfill was closed immediately after new cases of the COVID-19 was recorded on May 27, and just re-opened this morning, allowing the waste pickers to come and do their job. During the event, many of them shared that they were very happy to receive necessary supplies to prevent COVID transmission when they are at work.
Items provided include 600 pairs of protective gloves, 600 bottles of hand sanitizer (230ml/ bottle), 600 boxes of medical masks (50 pieces/ box) and 300 packages of fabric masks (10 pieces) which are from a small project funded by GAIA Asia and Pacific. GAIA is a global coalition working on alternatives to incineration of which CAB is a recent member. In addition, CAB has received a donation of 300 liters of cooking oil which were then provided to 300 these waste pickers.
We, those who work towards a zero-waste environment hope that people who make a living by collecting waste will be safe from high risks of diseases in general and COVID-19 in particular.
