Speakers discussed at the "green packaging" forum held on the morning of August 8 - Photo: Organizing Committee
That is the view shared by many delegates, experts and businesses at the Forum "Green Packaging: EPR Journey Leading Sustainable Values" organized by Vietnam News and Law Newspaper (under Vietnam News Agency) in collaboration with Vinexad Company (under the Ministry of Industry and Trade ) on August 8 in Ho Chi Minh City.
Clearing the name of plastic
Speaking at the forum, Ms. Chu Thi Kim Thanh - Operations Director of Packaging Recycling Joint Stock Company (PRO Vietnam) - emphasized that plastic still plays an essential role in modern life.
According to Ms. Thanh, instead of focusing only on limiting or completely eliminating waste, it is more important to build an effective management system, especially in the stages of waste classification at source and recycling.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Yen - Deputy Head of the Legal Department of the Department of Environment ( Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ) - said that we should not follow the "anti-plastic" movements that lack scientific basis. "Every material has two sides, what needs to be done is to use it in a controlled manner, avoid abuse and communicate its true nature," he said.
From an industry perspective, Ms. Huynh Thi My - Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Plastics Association (VPA) - said that social media once "blamed" the plastic industry too much, causing public opinion to mistakenly believe that plastic is the core cause of environmental pollution.
In fact, it is plastic products - especially single-use plastics - that have helped improve consumption efficiency, reduce costs and effectively support economic development.
"Decades ago, plastic was considered a great invention of mankind. When abused and mishandled, it becomes an environmental burden. But to solve the problem of plastic waste at its root, the core is to collect, classify and recycle after use. We need to build a closed, professional and sustainable recycling system," Ms. My emphasized.
A representative of the Vietnam Plastics Association said that in the coming time, the association will strengthen coordination with relevant parties to promote correct communication about the role of plastics, avoiding one-sided views.
EPR: A breakthrough mechanism but unable to "take off"
In addition to the debates surrounding plastic materials, within the framework of the forum, many opinions focused on analyzing the key role of the "Extended Producer Responsibility" (EPR) mechanism. This mechanism is expected to be a breakthrough tool, promoting the development of the recycling industry and transforming the consumption model from linear to circular economy.
However, after more than a year of implementation, EPR in Vietnam still faces many obstacles, making it impossible for initial expectations to be transformed into actual effectiveness.
One of the major bottlenecks is the lack of synchronization between business responsibilities and supporting infrastructure. Businesses must collect and process used packaging, while the system of waste classification at source and recycling infrastructure is still weak, causing many arising problems.
From the manufacturing side, Ms. Pham Thi Bich Phuong - Sales Director of Sao Khue Food Company - said that to meet preservation requirements in export, many products are forced to use multi-layered, difficult-to-decompose packaging. This increases processing costs, while there is no suitable support policy.
Ms. Kim Thanh said that most of the input waste is not properly classified, often mixed with impurities, while the recycling infrastructure is still weak.
About 80% of waste comes from small collection units but lacks valid documents, making it difficult for businesses to trace and prove the origin.
According to experts, if the above barriers are not removed soon, EPR will hardly be as effective as expected.
On the contrary, when operated in the right direction, EPR can become a powerful lever, helping businesses transform green, improve competitiveness and adapt to global trends.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/song-xanh-la-phai-cai-nhua-20250808153802873.htm
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