GREEN waste management new edUcation System for recycling and environmental
protection in Asia (GREENUS) is a project funded by the European Union to develop the
technical capabilities of the younger generations in the waste management sector in Vietnam,
enhancing the fundamental role of universities. As a part of the GREENUS project, this study
aims to investigate the level of awareness and attitude of the Vietnamese universities about
waste recycling and the impact of the project activities. Data were gathered from a questionnaire,
which was distributed to three universities in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City University of
Technology, Can Tho University, and Hanoi University of Science and Technology) for three
months in 2023. Descriptive statistics and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis were used
to analyze the data. The results show that Professors/lecturers as well as older people have higher
level of awareness and appear more inclined to engage in waste separation. In addition, females
express more willingness to participate in the separate collection of waste for recycling than
males. Regarding small electronic devices, the majority replace their mobile phones within three
to five years due to damage, while laptops tend to have a longer lifespan, often exceeding five
years. Furthermore, the majority of respondents (over 70%) find the GREENUS initiative
effective in enhancing their awareness of the importance of proper waste management. They
believe that the initiative is valuable since it simply explains why appropriate waste management
is everyone responsibility, provides new knowledge on waste management techniques and
inspires/motivates people to handle waste correctly. The study can represent a good source of
references for suggesting practical policies that spread a new recycling culture, promoting the
use of innovative waste collection and recycling systems in the Universities.