The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Vietnam’s National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP), and the Norwegian Embassy, recently held the second and final dialogue in the Plastic Talk series.

Themed “Closing the post-consumer plastic loop,” the event also launched a study on a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) tailored to Vietnam.

This event series, organized in support of World Environment Day 2025 and its “Beat Plastic Pollution” message, aimed to share practical solutions for promoting a circular plastic economy. Discussions focused on business-led initiatives such as low-value plastic recycling, advanced waste-sorting and treatment technologies, and using post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials as new raw materials.

Circular plastic economy and the role of the private sector

In his opening remarks, Vu Duc Dam Quang, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, stated that Vietnam faces an increasingly severe plastic pollution challenge. He emphasized the need for a comprehensive overhaul of the plastic lifecycle management system. Transitioning to a circular model is not simply about better waste treatment, but about redesigning the entire value chain - from production to consumption - to turn plastic from an environmental burden into a reusable resource.

Echoing this commitment, participating companies presented their roadmaps for shifting to PCR-based packaging. Anke Boykin, Senior Director of Global Environmental Policy at PepsiCo, outlined the company’s 3R strategy: Reduce - Recycle - Reinvent.

Vietnam, she noted, is a pioneer market for PepsiCo in using 100% recycled plastic bottles. As of April 2022, PepsiCo Vietnam had adopted fully recycled PET bottles, becoming the first in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific region to do so.

Boykin emphasized that expanding circular models delivers both environmental and economic gains by reducing low-value plastic waste, lowering carbon footprints in packaging, and creating jobs for waste collectors and soft plastic recyclers.

However, she stressed that realizing PCR models in Vietnam requires effective policy design to encourage investment, minimize financial risk, and enable public-private partnerships. This includes incentives for bottle-to-bottle recycling, linking informal waste collectors to formal systems, and ensuring fair labor practices.

Other companies at the event included Unilever Vietnam, which announced a goal to make 100% of its packaging PCR-based, and Indorama Ventures Vietnam, which showcased its closed-loop PET recycling system for post-consumer bottles.

Towards a national deposit return system for plastic recycling

Also unveiled at the event was a study on a Vietnam-specific Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), funded by the Norwegian Embassy and conducted by Eunomia Research & Consulting. The DRS is seen as a cornerstone of Vietnam’s circular economy.

Under the DRS, consumers pay a small deposit when purchasing bottled or canned drinks, which is refunded upon returning the containers to collection points. These are then counted, sorted, and delivered to recycling facilities - improving recycling rates and material quality while reducing environmental litter.

The study analyzed beverage sales, recycling practices, and waste collection in both formal and informal sectors. Data was gathered through surveys, interviews, document reviews, revenue analysis, and stakeholder workshops.

It found that Vietnam generates about 25 million tons of municipal solid waste annually, with 60% coming from urban areas. This volume is increasing by 10-16% annually, especially in cities, industrial zones, and tourist destinations. Yet, waste collection infrastructure remains underdeveloped: 84-87% coverage in cities, 40-63% in rural areas, and under 10% in remote regions.

Only 10–15% of municipal solid waste is recycled, most through “downcycling” into inferior products. Informal collectors are responsible for recycling 83% of plastic waste, but the lack of traceability and quality control limits the contribution of their output to a closed-loop system.

Experts thus recommend implementing a mandatory, industry-led DRS for single-use PET bottles and aluminum cans, with a proposed deposit of 1,000–2,000 VND (about 4–8 cents USD) per item. If successfully deployed, this system could reduce over 77,000 tons of packaging waste annually, cut 265,000 tons of CO₂ emissions, create 6,400 formal jobs, and provide nearly 10,000 informal work opportunities.

The study also supports aligning the DRS design with Vietnam’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy, contributing to ocean plastic reduction and the national target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Norwegian Ambassador Hilde Solbakken shared: “In Norway, the deposit return system has helped us achieve one of the highest plastic bottle recycling rates in the world - over 90%. Across Europe, similar systems have proven that smart design combined with strong public and business participation yields real environmental benefits. With growing sustainability commitments, Vietnam stands to gain significantly from these proven models by boosting recycling rates and effectively addressing plastic pollution.”

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