Vietnam’s New EPR Rules Take Effect, Strengthening Circularity for Beverage Packaging

Vietnam has officially introduced revised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, setting clearer requirements for the collection, recycling and circular use of beverage packaging, including aluminium beverage cans.

The new framework, set out in Decree No. 110/2026/ND-CP, came into effect on 25 May 2026. It requires manufacturers and importers placing products and packaging on the Vietnamese market to take responsibility for their recovery, treatment and related reporting after use. For the beverage packaging sector, the changes are expected to have implications for brand owners, fillers, importers and other participants across the local packaging supply chain.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has stated that the revised regulations are intended to provide more detailed guidance on the recycling and waste-treatment responsibilities of producers and importers. The policy focus extends beyond disposal, placing greater emphasis on the circular economy and the conversion of waste materials into reusable resources.

The decree also provides greater clarity on where recycling responsibilities sit in different supply-chain arrangements. In contract-manufacturing models, the ordering party is generally responsible for fulfilling recycling obligations. In import-entrustment arrangements, responsibility generally rests with the organisation or individual responsible for product labelling. Where products or packaging carrying the same label are manufactured by different producers, the party responsible for the label is typically required to fulfil the recycling obligation.

A National EPR Information System has also been established as the mandatory platform for registration, declaration and reporting. Producers and importers that organise their own recycling activities must register recycling plans and report the recycling results for products and packaging placed on the market in the previous year. Those choosing to make financial contributions must declare the amount payable. Recycling reports are also required to be verified by an independent auditing body.

As implementation progresses, practical concerns have emerged around the stability of the reporting platform, the accuracy of automatic calculations and the transparency of financial contribution mechanisms. Vietnamese authorities have indicated that the National EPR Information System is continuing to be reviewed and upgraded to improve consistency, reliability and business compliance.

Aluminium beverage cans remain an important part of Vietnam’s beverage packaging market. A recent study estimated that aluminium cans and PET bottles account for approximately 98% of the country’s single-use beverage-container market. Aluminium cans represent around 65% of the total market, compared with approximately 33% for PET bottles.

The same study estimated current collection rates at around 80% for aluminium cans and 50% for PET bottles. While aluminium packaging already benefits from relatively strong collection performance, further progress will depend on improving the quality, traceability and value retention of recovered materials.

The study also suggested that a deposit return system for single-use beverage packaging could divert up to 77,000 tonnes of packaging waste from landfill each year, reduce carbon emissions by approximately 265,000 tonnes, and create additional employment opportunities across both the formal and informal recycling sectors.

Vietnam’s new EPR rules signal a broader move toward stronger recycling infrastructure, more transparent reporting systems and greater accountability across the beverage-packaging value chain. For the aluminium beverage packaging industry, future competitiveness is likely to depend not only on product quality and supply capability, but also on recycling performance, material circularity and sustainable packaging solutions.

Source: Canmaker; public information from Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment