Nine companies join hands to set up a packaging recycling alliance in Vietnam

This pioneering coalition of consumer goods and packaging industry contributes towards a green, clean, and beautiful Vietnam

This is an important pillar in the 3R rule (Reduce – Reuse – Recycle). To this end, these nine companies have discussed, aligned and joined hands to organise a signing ceremony to launch the Packaging Recycling Organization Vietnam (PRO Vietnam) in Ho Chi Minh City on June 21.

The nine founding members who have come forward with the initiative to form PRO Vietnam are Coca-Cola Vietnam, FrieslandCampina, La Vie, Nestlé Vietnam, NutiFood, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam, Tetra Pak Vietnam, TH Group, and URC Vietnam. PRO Vietnam marks the first time that competing businesses are collaborating in Vietnam to collectively work on improving the environment of Vietnam.

As leading brands in Vietnam which interact with thousands of employees and millions of consumers, companies in this coalition understand that while packaging helps to solve one problem, it can contribute to another. This is especially so where there is inadequate waste management and a lack of recycling infrastructure. When recycling is not done properly, packaging becomes a wasted resource that our planet cannot sustain.

Municipal solid waste in Vietnam is forecast to increase by 38 per cent from 11.6 million tonnes in 2016 to 15.9 million tonnes in 2030. Vietnam is currently one of the five largest contributors globally to release plastic waste into the ocean, contributing 280,000 tonnes of plastic waste yearly. Trade data shows that Vietnam was until recently heavily reliant on imports of scrap plastic and paper as feedstock for its recycling industries. With the growth in waste generation, this challenge of packaging waste is likely to compound further without concerted public-private intervention. Thus there is a need to support the growth of a strong, resilient domestic packaging collection and recycling ecosystem which can increase recycling rates and reduce packaging leakage.

PRO Vietnam will work towards its ambition through four pillars of activities, including educating consumers on recycling awareness and segregation; strengthening the existing packaging collection ecosystem; supporting recycling programmes of processors and recyclers. PRO Vietnam will also work with the government in the “Recycle” aspect of 3R (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) and through its unique voluntary, public-private partnership aims to improve livelihood conditions and create jobs for individuals and businesses working on post-consumer packaging. Besides, PRO Vietnam will also co-ordinate with research centres of universities to find the most suitable solutions for the environment of Vietnam.

Pham Phu Ngoc Trai, who was nominated to be the chairman of PRO Vietnam, states, “We believe to sustain business growth we have to be committed to the society and the environment, contributing towards a clean, green, and beautiful Vietnam.”

The founding members of PRO Vietnam unite towards the shared ambition that by 2030, all packaging material put into the market by its members shall be collected for recycling.

PRO Vietnam welcomes more companies and stakeholders in Vietnam to join this initiative. The fundamental principle of PRO Vietnam is the belief that if we all work together on common recycling goals, we can achieve faster and better results than working independently.