It is cheesy to say AYA project comes from a dream - a dream of being able to breath in fresh air, swim in clean rivers and clear oceans. How ironically we had them all in Vietnam just 20 years ago.
When I was a child, I always excitedly asked my father to finish his bottles of beer so I could bring them to a shop lady, swap for the deposits from those bottles on candies. That's the highlight of my childhood.
Fast forward my father drinks beers in cans, I drink bubble tea plastic cups and we drink water in plastic bottles. We say its more convenient, we don't have all the time to return, because… who would bother?
.
Sadly, our convenience generates 900 tons of plastic every day in Vietnam, make us the 5th largest country in polluting the ocean. It seems like the whole world is blaming us. But I am not convinced.
In the world, every day there are 19 million ton of plastic is generated and only 6% is recyclable. When China bans importing waste from the “1st world countries”, we clearly see the recycling is a falling system.
We need to turn off the running tap. Reuse packaging is the optimal solution.
With technology, I want to recreate my childhood happy moment. To create AYA - a network of participants at which we can conveniently return those takeaway cups, food containers and receive not only deposits but also rewards.
With AYA, Vietnam will be perceived as an innovative country in combating single-use plastic waste and share our successful experience with the world.
I need your help, by joining us in this link: http://bit.ly/joinAYA, and strongly demand for reusable cups instead of single use plastic. Step by step, slowly but surely, we can all go back in time when we can breathe fresh air, swim in clear rivers and clean oceans.
I can't wait to see how far we can go together!
Cheers!
Linh Le - Founder