Vietnamese, S Korean firms ink plastic waste recycling pact

Vietnamese environmental and water supply company Biwase has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean firm City Oil Field to cooperate in recycling plastic waste.

Under the MoU, City Oil Field will start this year the construction of a regenerated green oil (RGO) plant at a recycling site owned by Biwase in the southern province of Binh Duong.

City Oil Field will also build a chemical recycling facility to recycle plastic waste in Binh Duong. The South Korean firm has not disclosed a time frame for this project.

The partnership will officially kick off on January 1, 2024, City Oil Field said Wednesday.

According to the South Korean firm, its chemical recycling developments in Vietnam will adopt the extended producer responsibility (EPR) system.

EPR for plastic waste is a concept that has gained significant importance in the realm of sustainable waste management worldwide. Under this, companies create markets for recycling or reusing waste materials to minimize their total environmental impact.

The system is in line with Vietnam’s current policies and efforts to adopt a circular economy model and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Vietnam’s 2020 Environmental Protection Law, which took effect in January 2022, introduces the EPR concept which specifies the responsibilities of producers and importers with regard to recycling and treatment of discarded products and packages.

The Asian Development Bank approved last November a $20 million loan for Biwase that will finance the operation and expansion of a composting plant with a capacity of 840 tons per day, and an industrial and municipal solid waste incinerator using waste-to-energy technology with a capacity of 200 tons per day at the South Binh Duong Solid Waste Treatment Complex.

In its home province of Binh Duong bordering Ho Chi Minh City, Biwase has carried out sewerage projects with Japanese ODA loans. These include the Southern Binh Duong Province Water Environment Improvement Project (loan agreement in 2007) and the Southern Binh Duong Province Water Environment Improvement Project - Phase Two (loan agreement in 2012).