David Duong supports environmental education for young people in Vietnam while workers at Vietnam Waste Solutions get a free health check-up, in keeping with the company's long-running commitment to its employees' wellbeing. Separately, a delegation of Hưng Long commune officials on October 13 recognizes the company's contributions to Ho Chi Minh City residents' lives.
OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- California Waste Solutions, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary Vietnam Waste Solutions, is expanding its long-running investment in people alongside environmental infrastructure in Vietnam.
Recent initiatives include a 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival (Trung Thu) community program that reached more than 500 children in Hưng Long commune and employee health and well-being initiatives at the Da Phuoc Integrated Waste Treatment Complex.
"California Waste Solutions is, first and foremost, an environmental company. Our work is closely connected to the communities we serve and the environment we share. That is why educating younger generations and supporting our employees' well-being matter so much to us. That commitment is just as important in Vietnam as it is in the United States," said David Duong, Founder & Owner of California Waste Solutions.
In Hưng Long, Vietnam Waste Solutions partnered with local authorities to deliver a 2026 Trung Thu celebration for more than 500 children, providing gifts and festive activities that support families in the area surrounding the facility. The effort continues a pattern of annual community support that includes Tet gifts for low-income households, scholarships for students, and broader social programs.
"We believe that if a society can evolve into a greener, more generous one, then it can be a richer, more industrious place to live in. That's the message at the heart of the scholarships we give out every year," said Founder David Duong.
Vietnam Waste Solutions regularly opens the Da Phuoc complex as a practical classroom. School groups participate in what's known as kham pha tri thuc, which means "knowledge discovery" in Vietnamese. The knowledge discovery programs allow elementary students to learn about and study sanitary landfilling, leachate treatment (turning black wastewater into clear and reusable water), material recovery, composting, and landfill-gas-to-energy systems.
Vietnam Waste Solutions recently announced that it was applying to convert the Da Phuoc landfill into a proposed 60-megawatt waste-to-energy facility with an investment of more than half a billion dollars.
The aim is for students to leave with a hands-on understanding of materials separation, resource recovery, and environmental responsibility, after undergoing a day of quizzes, drawing contests and speaking directly with the company's engineers. These tours, organized with various community groups and educational partners, aim to build long-term environmental awareness among the next generation.
"Reinvesting": Government-Led Delegation Reaffirms Production Line
On Vietnamese Entrepreneurs' Day on October 13th, a delegation of Hưng Long commune leaders led by Party Secretary Duong Duc Trong visited Vietnam Waste Solutions to formally recognize its contributions to waste treatment, environmental protection, and local social welfare. The group, which included representatives of the People's Council, People's Committee, Fatherland Front, local police and civic organizations, reviewed operations at the Da Phuoc complex and reaffirmed the commune's support for continued stable production.
David Duong said the company's investment in Vietnam is intended to support both the company's development and the people of Ho Chi Minh City.
"We also commit to standing side by side with the locality in all fields, especially the environment," Duong said. "Vietnam Waste Solutions is prepared to keep investing and reinvesting to expand capacity, raise treatment efficiency, create more jobs and support local socio-economic development."
Vietnam Waste Solutions was established in 2005. The Da Phuoc facility, which Vietnam Waste Solutions began operating in November 2007 as Vietnam's first sanitary landfill built to U.S. Subtitle D standards, currently receives nearly 5,000 tons of household waste a day, or roughly half of Ho Chi Minh City's municipal solid waste.
Alongside ongoing sanitary landfilling, material recovery, composting and landfill-gas-to-energy operations, Vietnam Waste Solutions is advancing a proposed 60-megawatt waste-to-energy plan that will process about 3,000 tons of residual waste daily with an investment of more than half a billion dollars, using advanced G7/G8 emission-control technologies to cut landfill volume and increase energy recovery. Through the David Duong Community Fund, the company continues to support disadvantaged families through housing assistance, Tết gifts, contributions to local poverty relief programs, and scholarships benefiting hundreds of students. These community initiatives run alongside its plans to develop a proposed 60-megawatt waste-to-energy facility.
Supporting Employee Health and Well-Being
In Ho Chi Minh City, nearly 400 Vietnam Waste Solutions employees recently underwent comprehensive annual health examinations, including blood tests, imaging, specialist assessments and occupational health screenings coordinated with medical partners.
David Duong personally visited the site to speak with workers. Additional measures include first-aid training conducted with the Red Cross, heat-stress and seasonal health briefings, occupational safety drills, scholarships for employees' children, and recreational trips. Nearly half of the workforce has reportedly remained with the company for almost 20 years, reflecting long-standing relationships with employees.
David Duong emphasized the importance of employee health, ongoing investment in workplace safety, and the company's long-standing relationships with its workforce. "The employees' health is paramount to us at this company. Healthy workers mean a healthy end-product, and in the recycling business, that is more important than ever. The fact that we have one of the highest employee retention rates in the industry globally reflects that commitment," said Duong.
These latest programs sit alongside larger education commitments, including a $5 million scholarship pledge to Fulbright University Vietnam. California Waste Solutions, founded in Oakland in 1992, has long linked its California recycling operations with community investment in both the United States and Vietnam.
"Education and the well-being of the people who do the work are not side activities for us," said CEO Duong. "They are part of how we deliver reliable environmental services over the long term, whether that is giving children a warm Mid-Autumn Festival and education about the environment in which they grow up and how to protect it, or ensuring that our employees in Vietnam receive the health support and working conditions they need to build lasting careers with us."
About California Waste Solutions
Founded in 1992 by David Duong, California Waste Solutions provides recycling collection, processing, customer service, and material recovery for residential, commercial, and municipal customers in Northern California, including Oakland and San José. Through its subsidiary Vietnam Waste Solutions, the company also operates large-scale environmental infrastructure in Ho Chi Minh City. Headquarters: 1211 Embarcadero, Suite 300, Oakland, CA 94606. www.calwaste.com.
About Vietnam Waste Solutions
Vietnam Waste Solutions is the wholly owned Vietnamese subsidiary of California Waste Solutions and operates the Da Phuoc Integrated Solid Waste Facility serving Ho Chi Minh City. The Da Phuoc Integrated Solid Waste Facility was developed as Vietnam's first sanitary landfill modeled on U.S. Subtitle D standards. Existing operations include sanitary landfill management, recycling and material recovery, composting, leachate and wastewater treatment, treated-water reuse, landfill-gas collection and electricity generation. VWS is advancing the proposed 60-megawatt Da Phuoc waste-to-energy project and continues development of the Green Environmental Technology Park in Tây Ninh Province.
Media Contact
Wendy Nguyen
PR & Marketing Manager
California Waste Solutions
wendynguyen@calwaste.com
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California Waste Solutions Leads Youth Education, Worker Programs & Government Delegations As Founder David Duong Says He Will Continue "Reinvesting" In Vietnam
