Kiều Nguyễn Trâm Anh-22DH710138

Extended Producer Responsibility is a tool to

promote the recycling industry, circular
economy
Phan Tuấn Hùng, director of the National Extended Producer Responsibility Council’s Office, said if we
properly and fully implemented the requirements of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), it would
ensure the closure and circulation of resources between input materials and waste generated during the
production process, towards the goal of no emissions.

Plastic waste in An Hải Commune, Ninh Phước District in the coastal central province of Ninh Thuận.—
VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành
HÀ NỘI — Extended Producer Responsibility is a new policy approach to deal
with waste, promote recycling, and help the Government achieve its environmental
goals. Phan Tuấn Hùng, director of the National Extended Producer Responsibility
Council Office, said if properly and fully implemented EPR would ensure the
circulation of resources between the input and waste stages in the production
process and help achieve the goal of no emissions. “No matter what form of
recycling a manufacturing enterprise chooses, cash will flow to businesses that
collect and recycle waste,” Hùng was quoted by Vietnam News Agency's Tin
Tức (News) newspaper as saying. But only advanced and modern recycling
technologies that meet environmental standards would benefit from the EPR
policy, he stressed. Small recyclers who struggle to acquire advanced technologies
should join hands, he added. This is the first year of EPR implementation in Việt
Nam, and the hope is to create a change in the process of promoting the circular
economy. Local manufacturers and importers have embraced EPR quite early. In
2021 nine enterprises, TH Group, Coca-Cola, FrieslandCampina, La Vie, Nestle,
Nutifood, Suntory PepsiCo, Tetra Pak, and Universal Robina Corporation
established the Packaging Recycling Organisation Việt Nam. Its mission is to
develop a strong packaging collection and recycling eco-system that helps increase
recycling rates and minimize the rate of packaging discharged into the
environment. It has helped raise consumer awareness about recycling and waste
classification and strengthen the existing packaging collection ecosystem. It has
also supported the recycling programs of treatment plants and factories that
produce recycled materials. In addition to the organization’s efforts, its members
have also actively responded and signed cooperation agreements with recyclers.
Suntory PepsiCo Việt Nam Beverage and DUYTAN Plastic Recycling signed a
strategic agreement for the supply of recycled plastic to the former to make
packaging for its products in 2022-26. In October 2023 La Vie Limited Liability
Company signed a memorandum of understanding for a waste-plastic collection
and recycling co-operation programme with DUYTAN Plastic Recycling. Under
the five-year program, the two have a target of collecting and recycling 11,000
tonnes of plastic waste. In November FrieslandCampina Việt Nam signed an
agreement with Đồng Tiến Bình Dương Paper Company Limited and Trường
Thịnh Mechanical Construction Company Limited to improve its waste-packaging
collection and recycling capacity. Many Vietnamese businesses are also seeking to
invest in recycling plants. DUYTAN Plastic Recycling has invested US$60 million
in a plastic recycling plant that uses Bottle-to-bottle technology. The technology
allows plastic to be recycled up to 50 times. The factory is now among the five
most modern and largest that recycle plastic in the world. It has a capacity of
40,000 tonnes a year. Vietcycle Corporation and ALBA Group have established a
48,000-tonne recycling plant at a cost of $50 million. It uses technology from
Germany to recycle and create rPET plastic that meets international standards. It is
the first in the north to recycle and make food-grade plastic. New point EPR is
enshrined in the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection. In addition to the goal of
increasing reuse, recycling, and minimizing waste, EPR will change manufacturer's
and consumers’ habits, increase the use of environment-friendly materials, reduce
plastic waste, and help achieve a circular economy. Its Article 54 stipulates that
manufacturers and importers are responsible for recycling products and packaging.
Manufacturers and importers of six groups of products and packaging - tires and
tubes, batteries and accumulators, lubricants, packaged products (such as food,
cosmetics, drugs, fertilizers, animal feed, veterinary drugs, cement, detergents and
preparations for household, agricultural and medical use), electricity and
electronics, and vehicles -- are responsible for recycling products and packaging
based on the mandatory recycling rate and recycling specifications. They have the
option instead of paying the Việt Nam Environmental Protection Fund to recycle
their products. Their deadlines are staggered between 2024 and 2027.
Manufacturers and importers of six other groups of products and packaging - plant
protection drugs, disposable batteries, nappies, sanitary napkins, disposable wet
wipes, chewing gum, cigarettes, and certain products and goods containing
synthetic plastic ingredients - have been paying the fund for recycling since 2022.
— VNS

1. What is the mission of the Packaging Recycling Organisation Việt

Nam?
  The mission of the Packaging Recycling Organisation Việt Nam is to
develop a strong packaging collection and recycling eco-system that
helps increase recycling rates and minimize the rate of packaging
discharged into the environment.
2. What agreement was signed between Suntory PepsiCo Việt Nam
Beverage and DUYTAN Plastic Recycling?
 Suntory PepsiCo Việt Nam Beverage and DUYTAN Plastic
Recycling signed a strategic agreement for the supply of recycled
plastic to the former to make packaging for its products in 2022-26.
3. What was the target of the waste-plastic collection and recycling co-
operation program signed between La Vie Limited Liability Company
and DUYTAN Plastic Recycling?
 The target of the waste-plastic collection and recycling co-operation
program signed between La Vie Limited Liability Company and
DUYTAN Plastic Recycling is to collect and recycle 11,000 tonnes of
plastic waste under the five-year program.
4. What did DUYTAN Plastic Recycling invest in, and what technology
does it use?
 DUYTAN Plastic Recycling invested US$60 million in a plastic
recycling plant that uses Bottle-to-bottle technology, which allows
plastic to be recycled up to 50 times.
5. What is the capacity of the recycling plant established by Vietcycle
Corporation and ALBA Group, and what type of plastic does it
produce?
 The recycling plant established by Vietcycle Corporation and ALBA
Group has a capacity of 48,000 tonnes a year and produces rPET
plastic that meets international standards.
6. What are the responsibilities of manufacturers and importers under the
2020 Law on Environmental Protection, and what are the deadlines for
compliance?
 Manufacturers and importers are responsible for recycling products
and packaging based on the mandatory recycling rate and recycling
specifications. Their deadlines are staggered
 between 2024 and 2027.

VOCABULARY

1. Circulation: /ˌsɜːr.kjʊˈleɪ.ʃən/
 Noun (n): The movement or flow of something.
2. Embraced: /ɪmˈbreɪst/
 Verb (v): Past tense of "embrace," meaning to accept or adopt
willingly.
3. Classification: /ˌklæs.ɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
 Noun (n): The process of categorizing or organizing things.
4. Ecosystem: /ˈiː.kəʊ.sɪs.tɪm/
 Noun (n): A community of living organisms and their environment.
5. Memorandum: /ˌmem.əˈræn.dəm/
 Noun (n): A written message or note.
6. Bottle-to-bottle: /ˈbɒt.l̩ tʊ ˈbɒt.l̩ /
 Adjective (adj): Describing a recycling process for plastic bottles.
7. Enshrined: /ɪnˈʃraɪnd/
 Verb (v): Past participle of "enshrine," meaning to preserve or
protect.
8. Stipulates: /ˈstɪp.jʊˌleɪts/
 Verb (v): Third person singular form of "stipulate," indicating
specifying a requirement.
9. Lubricants: /ˈluː.brɪ.kənts/
 Noun (n): Substances used to reduce friction.
10. Sanitary napkins: /ˈsæn.ɪ.tər.i ˈnæp.kɪns/
 Noun (n): Absorbent products worn during menstruation.
11. Ingredient: /ɪnˈɡriː.di.ənt/
 Noun (n): A component combined with others in a mixture.