Saigon man recycles trash into treasure

VietNamNet Bridge - Tong Van Thom, a waste collector in HCM City, has amassed a large quantity of vintage rubbish, which he skillfully turns into unique items.

VietNamNet Bridge - Tong Van Thom, a waste collector in HCM City, has amassed a large quantity of vintage rubbish, which he skillfully turns into unique items.

His rented two-story house on Le Van Khuong Road in District 12 in Ho Chi Minh City is full of recycled items, and the wall is covered by many awards and medals. They are the effort and the result of his 22 years of “recycling garbage".

Thom says in 1998, when the city launched the program "For a clean and green environment", he had the idea of turning waste, particularly electronic devices, into useful items.

After he collects garbage in the morning and early afternoon, he usually comes home at around 3pm to repair, recycle and create unique products from scraps.

He now has more than 2,000 models and recycled products, which he estimates to be worth about VND1 billion ($50,000).

Born in a poor family, he was very lucky to get a chance to be trained in electronics and mechanical repair.

At the age of 20, he became the manager of an electronic repair shop. With experience from the previous job, Thom has created many items from rubbish that can "sing" like phonographs, cameras, cassette players, radios, TV etc, amplifiers, and projectors.

"I like the electronic devices that were manufactured about 40 years ago the most. They were thrown to the garbage dumps. I picked them up and revived them. They have unique values that modern things today don’t have,” Thom says.

Of the 2,000 recycled items by Thom, there are about 1,000 products of great value. Many people want to buy them but Thom has not sold them.

Thom says he likes a dan xep musical instrument the most. "A Vietnamese-French offered me $2,000 for the instrument, but I did not sell it," he says.

Another unique product is a beer-can landline phone. Thom created this item from various waste items he collected from the garbage dump.

Thom’s motorcycle is assembled from many parts from toys, bicycles, old motorcycles, etc. Thom says it will be able to run when it is finished.

He says he has made many models from shells and will exhibit them one day.

As the chair of the society of garbage collectors of District 5 for years, Thom has won many awards and certificates for environmental protection.

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Thom's rented two-story house is full of recycled items, and the wall is covered by many awards and medals. They are the effort and the result of his 22 years of “recycling garbage".

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In 1998, when the city launched the program "For a clean and green environment", he had the idea of turning waste, particularly electronic devices, into useful items.

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