The streets of Saigon are filled with vendors and buyers, smokers and loungers, each accumulating and depositing waste into the gutters and trash bins and sometimes even directly onto the sidewalk. However, despite this relentless barrage of consumption and disposal, each new morning I am greeted by a relatively waste-free landscape. I have been pleasantly surprised by the waste management infrastructure in Saigon, as it seemingly is able to keep up with the demands of Vietnam’s rapidly growing economy. Although there are certainly issues with the sewage systems (i.e. non-potable drinking water from seepage into the water table), the trash removal services seem to be sufficient. There is a notable presence of orange-clad trash collectors, both on foot and in vehicles. In his piece “The ecological crisis, the human condition, and community-based restoration as an instrument for its cure,” Peter Leigh utilizes a quote from K Boulding that talks about the concept of “sacrifice traps”: “Once people are coerced, or even better, persuaded, into making sacrifices, their identity becomes bound up with the community organization for which the sacrifices were made.” These trash collection systems in Saigon could be creating a sacrifice trap, as they are persuading average citizens and business owners to circumvent more convenient and destructive disposal methods in favor of a more community-oriented approach.
Unfortunately, during our bus ride down to the Mekong Delta last weekend, I noticed that the buildup of visible trash became far greater the farther away we got from the city. Clearly the smaller towns and suburbs in the area do not have (either due to financial or organizational constraints I’m assuming) the trash removal infrastructure that is present in Saigon. The trash-lined streets were an unfortunate blight on the otherwise beautiful landscape. I began thinking about how the culture around trash disposal could be changed in these areas without some form of infrastructural support. Certainly Leigh’s community-based restoration model could apply, although I have doubts about the possibility of such a movement originating from within these communities. This is mostly due to the fact there seemed to be far more pressing social and economic issues that need addressing. However, a few government sponsored cleanup efforts could potentially show these communities that the collective work of volunteers can often have a great impact on both the environmental health and physical beauty of the landscape. There could also be an opportunity for job creation here, although I am unsure about the budgeting priorities of the national and local governments. Either way, I hope there the disposal efforts found in Saigon will become part of a larger national consciousness concerning the proper way to deal with trash.