VIETNAM – Recycling solutions provider ALBA Group Asia has signed a cooperation agreement with the plastic recycling company VietCycle to jointly construct a food-grade PET/HDPE plastic recycling plant in Vietnam.
The plant will leverage advanced technology to develop food-grade PET/HDPE resin that will meet international standards set by the EU and adopted by many international companies.
Expected to start the first phase of operations in 2024/25, the plant will have an estimated capital expenditure (CAPEX) of up to US$50 million.
Vietnam-based VietCycle said that the recycling plant will have a capacity of up to 48,000 tonnes per year.
The partnership will expand VietCycle’s network, which in turn will increase the number of informal waste collectors in Vietnam.
Additionally, the expansion will allow both ALBA and VietCycle to connect with disadvantaged collectors and improve their lives by offering training and social insurance benefits.
ALBA Group Asia chairman and shareholder Dr. Axel Schweitzer said: “Our vision is a world without waste.
“At the same time, with our holistic approach and through the use of digitization, we want to help sustainably improve the living and working conditions of collectors.
“With this project and the collaboration with our partners from VietCycle, we make a huge step in this direction.”
Schweitzer noted that the combination of ALBA Group Asia’s global waste management and plastic recycling expertise and VietCycle’s knowledge of the local plastic network is ideal.
The project will be part of a much-needed solution to Vietnam’s growing plastic waste problem, adds Schweitzer.
The new collaboration comes at a time when the demand for plastics in Vietnam has grown rapidly in consumer packaging, construction, household goods, and automotive industries as a result of the rising middle class.
As a result, the government has formulated a national action plan for the management of marine plastic litter that aims to reduce 75 percent of Vietnam’s marine plastic debris by 2030.
The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation are putting to work their collective public and private sector expertise to support policies and investments that could help build a circular economy by engaging stakeholders across the plastic value chain.
Through these collaborations, Vietnam is making the right steps toward a circular economy, which will reduce the pressure on its already stressed solid waste management (SWM) infrastructure.
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