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| Workers at the Soc Son waste-to-energy plant, located in the Nam Son Waste Treatment Complex in Hanoi’ Soc Son district, operate the waste treatment process to generate electricity__Photo: VNA |
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is drafting decree on extended producer responsibility (EPR) regarding recycling and waste management. As a standalone decree on EPR, the draft is designed to unify regulations on EPR in Vietnam’s laws, serving as a key step toward advancing the country’s transition to a circular economy.
An adequate legal framework for EPR
EPR policy stipulates that producers and importers are obliged to collect and recycle or treat wastes generated from their products and packaging that they market.
For the first time, Vietnam’s 2020 Law on Environmental Protection incorporated EPR in Articles 54 and 55, laying the foundation for a structured and systematic implementation of the policy. However, specific provisions concerning EPR remain scattered across multiple legal documents, most notably Decree 08/2022/ND-CP and Decree 05/2025/ND-CP.
According to the Department of Environment’s Deputy Director General Nguyen Hung Thinh, this regulatory fragmentation has posed challenges for enforcement and compliance, creating ambiguity for both businesses and regulators.
To address these issues, the draft decree aims to streamline the regulatory framework and enhance the enforceability of EPR. Furthermore, establishing a legal instrument regulating EPR would allow for greater flexibility in future revisions as the country is oriented toward a circular economy.
“Given the regulatory scope of EPR, which involves a wide range of stakeholders, including manufacturers, importers, recyclers and waste processors, adopting a separate legal instrument will significantly improve implementation efficiency and legal clarity,” Thinh emphasized.
Methods of performing recycling responsibilities
The draft decree clearly specifies the entities required to perform responsibilities for recycling, waste collection and treatment; outlines the implementation roadmap for each group of products and packaging; and stipulates mandatory recycling rates and specifications. It also identifies certain groups eligible for exemptions from EPR based on principles aligned with their scale, operational capacity, and environmental impact.
Producers and importers may perform their EPR through either of the two mechanisms.
First option is self-managed recycling. Enterprises may directly carry out the recycling, hire third-party recyclers, authorize an intermediary organization to carry out the recycling, or implement a combination of these approaches.
Second option is financial contributions. Entities liable to EPR may opt to make financial contributions to the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund in lieu of direct recycling activities.
Businesses may carry over recycled volumes from 2024 to 2025 if they have fulfilled their recycling targets in the previous year.
The timeline for fulfilling recycling responsibilities has been adjusted on the basis of actual output released to the market at the end of the year, instead of being enforced at the beginning of the year as previously stipulated. Additionally, recycling specifications are being modified in favor of cost-effective and optimal solutions, rather than rigid requirements regarding recovered materials or energy.
Financial mechanisms and oversight of waste treatment support
Regarding producer responsibilities for general waste treatment, the draft decree outlines the framework for calculating financial contributions, setting payment deadlines, and managing fund disbursements. It introduces clear principles for the allocation and monitoring of these financial resources to ensure fairness, accountability, and prevent misuse.
Provincial-level People’s Committees will receive funds to carry out local waste treatment activities. Disbursements will be based on actual volumes of products and packaging that have been recycled or treated as verified by licensed organizations or qualified enterprises. This performance-based funding model is designed to improve transparency and efficiency in local waste management operations.
The EPR regime officially came into effect on January 1, 2024, initially applying to such products as batteries, accumulators, lubricants, tires, and packaging. From 2025, producers of electrical and electronic equipment and appliances will be subject to EPR, with enforcement beginning in 2026.- (VLLF)
