IUCN and TCP Viet Nam collaborate on EPR to support the circular economy

…

MONRE led the revision of Law on Environmental Protection (LEP), which was approved by the National Assembly in December 2020. The LEP’s Articles 54-55 provide the legal basis for Extended Producer Responsibilities (EPR), initially for six sectors: packaging, electrical goods, tires, batteries, lubricants and electric vehicles.  In January 2022, MONRE issued Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP and Circular No. 02/2022/TT-BTNMT, which provide guidance on implement the EPR articles.

EPR is now mandatory with specific regulations on product groups, product lists, recycling rates and recycling procedures for each product . However, the EPR roll out faces many challenges for businesses.  There is a need to develop EPR guidelines for each sector and to test models so that businesses can decide on what works best for them in line with the EPL.

In July 2022, IUCN and TCPVN Company Ltd agreed to implement the project “TCP moving toward circular economy and enhancing EPR practices in Viet Nam” in 2022-2024.  The project will test different EPR models from waste separation and collection to recycling of aluminium cans, PET plastics, and carton papers, the traceability of recycled material through the waste value chain, and identify barriers and opportunities for businesses to meet the EPR mandate.

On October 13, 2022, IUCN met TCPVN and project partners VietCycle and VSIP Industrial Zone.

At the meeting, Nguyen Thanh Huan, TCPVN Country Director, said that the company prioritized environmental protection.  It has developed a 5-year-strategy “Energizing a Better World for All” that focuses on neutrality, circular economy, and water conservation. Under the circular economy theme, the partnership with IUCN will collect and recycle 30 tons of packaging waste in 2022.  He highlighted the project’s social impact in supporting the informal sector, which plays a vital role in collecting and recycling waste.

Jake Brunner, IUCN Viet Nam Country Representative, talked about the need for policy reform.  Viet Nam faces a huge waste management problem and projects such as this one need to generate lessons learned that can be used in formulating and delivering policy messages to government.

After the meeting, IUCN and TCPVN visited two aggregators collecting carton papers and aluminium cans, met waste pickers in Thanh Tri District, Ha Noi, and a VietCycle plastic collection site in Hung Yen Province.