Recycled playgrounds - Wheel of Dreams

Tires are a problematic waste type and cause serious environmental pollution, with roughly 1.5 billion tyres produced and consumed worldwide every year. In Vietnam, this amount can be up to 100,000 tons per year. However, current treatment methods are not strictly or attentively managed, leading to many negative consequences for human health and ecology.

On the other hand, children — especially those in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions — are a crucial and vulnerable demographic in society. They often lack facilities, safe, creative, and sustainable play spaces. According to a 2019 UNICEF report, only 42% of children in rural areas have a playground near their home. This lack of play space not only affects the physical, mental, and intellectual development of children but also reduces their ability to absorb knowledge and life skills.

Under this context, the "Recycled Playgrounds from Used Tires" project was born to both protect the environment and foster joy for children. Implemented in 2017, the project sets out to build playgrounds for children in difficult areas across the country from used tyres and other recycled materials. It not only provides safe, creative, and sustainable play spaces for children but also helps minimise waste and environmental pollution.

Local Infrastructure Shortages

The project is implemented in the Northern mountainous provinces and the Central Highlands, where socio-economic conditions are difficult, and poverty rates are high. According to a 2020 report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, these provinces bear a poverty rate from 10% to 40%, 5,23% above the national average. These provinces also have a multidimensional poverty rate from 15% to 50%, much higher than the national average of 9.88%.

Facilities for education and children's recreation in these provinces are insufficient. According to a 2019 report by the Ministry of Education and Training, only 50% to 80% of schools meet the national standard, and only 40% to 70% are in standard operation, 86.3% and 76.4% behind the national average, respectively. Many schools in remote and isolated areas still lack basic facilities such as electricity, water, toilets, tables and chairs...

Local Demand for Play in Highland Areas

Children are the target group with the highest demand and right to play in society. Play is an essential activity for the comprehensive development of children, assisting them in physical strength, health, communication skills, cooperation, sharing, creativity, and problem-solving. Play also helps children relieve stress and anxiety, enhancing self-confidence and the joy of living.

Despite having the same needs, difficult socio-economic conditions and lack of facilities have distanced highland children from accessing their own rights. Many of them do not have safe, creative, and sustainable play spaces, but have to endure polluted, dangerous, and boring play environments. They also do not have play tools and equipment suitable for their age and ability, along with beneficial and educational activities or programs for themselves.

Implementation Process

The project includes the following main activities:

Collect old tyres and other recycled materials from various sources, such as vehicle repair shops, garbage dumps, and households...

Paint and manufacture play equipment from old tyres and other recycled materials, such as swings, seesaws, slides, tables and chairs...

Transport and install play equipment at schools in difficult areas across the country.

Organise extracurricular environmental education activities and strengthen the spirit of solidarity for children at the playgrounds. - Manage, maintain, and evaluate the effectiveness of the playgrounds.

Propagate, disseminate, and replicate the recycled playground model for localities and neighbouring regions.

Scope: 

The project is implemented in the Northern mountainous provinces and the Central Highlands, where socio-economic conditions are difficult, and poverty rates are high. These provinces include Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Son La, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Hoa Binh, Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, and Dak Nong. From 2017 to 2023, the project successfully built 24 playgrounds across the country. The project aims to build at least 10 playgrounds for children in these provinces in 2023.

Impact

The project brings positive impacts to the beneficiaries, who are children in difficult areas across the country. These impacts include:

Minimise waste and environmental pollution caused by old tyres, while raising community awareness and responsibility for recycling, environmental protection, and waste reduction.

Create safe, creative, and sustainable play spaces for children, helping children practice physical strength, health, communication skills, cooperation, sharing, creativity, and problem-solving.

Expand the recycled playground model in localities and neighbouring regions, supporting localities in need of building playgrounds for children from old tyres and other recycled materials.

Budget 

Beyond a playground, the project hopes to inspire children to make use of their waste and enjoy a healthier play environment. Alongside the colourful wheels, the playgrounds are supplemented with beneficial activities such as recycling plastic bottles, planting trees, and providing guidance on plastic waste and environmental knowledge.

As devoted people who “wish for smiles on children's faces”, the Wheel of Dream team dares to bring more innovative and best ways to upgrade the playgrounds. Leveraging the achieved results, the enterprise strives for higher goals when creating playgrounds that help children's comprehensive achievement and raise local citizens' awareness in recycled items and achieve meaningful impacts for the environment.

Each Wheel of Dreams playground is a point for exchange, play, cultural and sports activities that are beneficial, healthy, and safe for children and youth. More than just a play area, children can understand more about recycling and gradually take on a green, environmentally friendly lifestyle.

The playground design and installation are tailored to each school area and student capacity:

Basic playground model

• Balance bridge module combined with a ladder: 10,000,000 VND
• Tire wall module combined with a swing: 10,000,000 VND
• 4-way seesaw module: 8,000,000 VND
• Single seesaw module (2 modules): 7,000,000 VND
• Decorative animal module for the playground (2 figures): 4,000,000 VND
• Tire seat and table set module: 5,000,000 VND
• Individual modules representing local culture and characteristic images such as images + patterns + simulation: 4,000,000 VND
• Transport + travel expenses: 10,000,000 VND
• Labour costs: 20,000,000 VND

Budget description for the 2023 Wheel of Dreams Recycled Playground project:

- Total expected budget per playground (VND): 78,000,000 VND

* Detailed budget estimates are built specifically for each playground depending on the locality, method of travel, and the material situation at the time of implementation.

This recycled playground project has high potential for model replication with the following advantages:

The project has high feasibility and efficiency, as it has been successfully implemented in many localities across the country, bringing positive impacts on children and the environment.

The project has high creativity and uniqueness, as it has transformed old tyres - a hard-to-decompose waste that may cause harm to the environment - into children's play equipment, a tool to support the comprehensive development of children.

The project has high cost-effectiveness and sustainability, as it uses recycled materials to make toys, reduces production costs, and protects the environment. The playgrounds can easily be maintained and operated for a long time.

The project has high spreading power, with collaborations from the Wheel of Dreams group, the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, local agencies, social organisations, and individuals joining their efforts in the project. Wheel of Dreams also communicates and replicates the recycled playground model for localities and neighbouring regions.

The enterprise calls for joint efforts in this major program with the desire to bring more playgrounds to highland ethnic schools and even more difficult areas. Your collective accompaniment will contribute to bringing more joy to many children across the country. The program also marked the transition of Wheel of Dreams, from a volunteer group to a social enterprise with more effective activities and operation scale, elevated to bring the best values to children.