21 June 2019, HCM CITY — Nine leading companies in the consumer goods and packaging industries joined hands to launch the coalition Packaging Recycling Organization Việt Nam (PRO Việt Nam) in Ho Chi Minh City.

PRO Viet Nam seeks to drive the circular economy and make recycling of packaging more accessible and sustainable.

The coalition marks the first time that competing businesses are collaborating in Việt Nam to collectively work on improving the environment.

The nine include Coca-Cola, FrieslandCampina, La Vie, Nestlé, NutiFood, Suntory PepsiCo, Tetra Pak, TH Group, and URC.

PRO Viet Nam will work towards its ambition through four pillars of activities: Educating consumers on recycling awareness and segregation, strengthening the existing packaging collection eco-system, supporting recycling programmes of processors and recyclers, and working with the Government in the “Recycle” aspect of 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle).

Viet Nam is one of the five largest contributors of plastic waste in the ocean, generating around 280,000 tonnes a year. Trade data shows that until recently, the country was 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 worsen without concerted public-private intervention. PRO Viet Nam aims to promote packaging collection and recycling eco-systems, to increase recycling rates and reduce packaging leakage.

SEA circular is working with the Government of Viet Nam and multinational corporations in South East Asia to support enabling policies and actions for plastic pollution reduction.t 14.1.