Vietnam Implements Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations to Boost Environmental Sustainability

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy that requires manufacturers or importers to take responsibility for their products throughout the product life cycle, from the design phase to logistics and recycling. 

In Vietnam, the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 has introduced EPR regulations with two responsibilities:

• responsibility for waste treatment
• responsibility for recycling packaging and products of manufacturers and importers

Specifically, the recycling liability takes effect on 01/01/2024, and is applied for accumulator, battery, lubricant, tire tubes and packaging. Enterprises can fulfill their recycling responsibilities through self-recycling, hiring recycling units, authorizing intermediaries to organize recycling or contributing financially to the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund (VEPF). 

Under this regulation, instead of recycling voluntarily, enterprises will have to recycle in accordance with the prescribed specifications and rates and report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment through the National EPR Portal.

EPR can be considered as an important tool to manage enterprises’ waste treatment, promote their adaptation to world sustainability standards and contribute to solving environmental pollution, heading towards circular economy and green transformation.