Being a software developer, 28-year-old Pham Phan Khanh Trinh has to use a lot of batteries for his electrical devices. He feels at ease when discovering a dead battery gathering location on Vo Van Tan Street of District 3.
Also feeling relieved is 24-year-old Bui Thanh Phuong, an officer living in Binh Thanh District. She shared that to save the environment, she used to bring old batteries to another gathering point, but they stopped receiving them last year. Now that she finds a station of Green Puzzle on Nguyen Thi Dieu Street of District 3, it is so convenient for her as it is near her workplace, and she can keep her good habit to protect the environment.
Green Puzzle was established in December 2021 by a group of students in VietSeeds Scholarship Fund, aiming at raising the public awareness about harmful effects of battery to the environment and forming useful habits to handle dead batteries. It came from the spirit of ‘Pay It Forward’ to carry out meaningful activities for the community.
Funding for 12 members of Green Puzzle to maintain activities comes from VietSeeds Scholarship Fund and mobilizes from the members’ friends.
Its first project ‘Saving Old Batteries’ is launched in 16 gathering points citywide with the message ‘Dead batteries, when being disposed as household waste, can seriously pollute the land, water, and air. It is time to change our harmful habit of throwing old batteries in the trash bin. Please bring them to Green Puzzle’s gathering points for proper handling!’
Green Puzzle has many gathering points throughout HCMC, mostly sited at large organizations, businesses, environmental club of universities. Old batteries can be brought here before being transferred to Green Puzzle partner – A Chau Co., a renowned business in the field of waste handling – to process in accordance with hazardous waste disposal procedures.
Head of Green Puzzle Project Le Thi Thuy Duong, a student of Fulbright University, shared that at first, she felt the benefits of environment protection are too vague to be able to persuade people to take action. However, as a Gen Z person, she should be bolder and become a pioneer doing such a good deed. She hoped that Green Puzzle can help to shape a greener future with people – as a civilized citizen – ready to protect the environment with all their heart.
