Phu Son Waste-to-Energy Treatment Plant demonstrates EPR

Recently, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE) in collaboration with the Project “ Hue - Plastic-reducing urban area in the Central region” organized a workshop to introduce the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) tool locally. On this occasion, many participating experts said that EPR is an approach to environmental policy; in which, manufacturers are required to be responsible for the environment throughout the product life cycle, including from design, production to consumption...

Mr. Nguyen Thi, expert of the Legal Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said that EPR was previously institutionalized in the Law on Environmental Protection in 2005. However, in the past, EPR regulations have not been effectively implemented because it is a completely voluntary model.

Voluntary application leads to the EPR model being ineffective, not creating a sustainable financial mechanism for the collection and treatment of products and packaging after use; not having an impact on the process of using raw materials, designing products that are easy to collect, recycle, and prolonging the "life" of the product...

"With the inevitable trend of developing the current circular economy model, applying EPR is necessary to achieve sustainable development goals" - Mr. Nguyen Thi commented.

Currently, according to the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, EPR has changed its approach, in which manufacturers have 2 responsibilities: Responsibility for recycling packaging products for groups of products and packaging with recyclable value; responsibility for collecting and treating waste for groups of products and packaging containing toxic substances, which are difficult to recycle, causing difficulties in waste collection and treatment. This is a clear policy, helping to solve plastic waste problems, as well as promoting the development of circular economy in localities, creating many opportunities for the development of a modern, environmentally friendly recycling industry.

A business representative shared that in order to effectively and sustainably implement EPR, in addition to the awareness of considering “waste as a resource”, ministries and sectors need to build and perfect institutions and policies to support and encourage manufacturers and importers to fulfill their responsibilities. Relevant parties need to increase exchanges, sharing, and answering questions in implementing detailed regulations on EPR, such as subjects, implementation forms, roadmaps, declarations, reporting of recycling results, sanctions for violations, etc. Thereby, helping businesses better understand their responsibilities for managing and treating waste throughout the product life cycle.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phuoc, Head of the Provincial Department of Environmental Protection, said that EPR and KTTH are closely related. Without EPR, there can be no KTTH. EPR is currently clearly stipulated in Articles 54 and 55 of the Law on Environmental Protection and is detailed in Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP dated January 10, 2022 of the Government . In the near future, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will organize many conferences and seminars to help local stakeholders have a clearer view of EPR, specifically the relationships between manufacturers, recycling organizations, collectors and consumers to effectively implement EPR locally.

Article and photos: M. Van