At the signing ceremony, held in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, Mr. Hoang Van Thuc, General Director of the Department of Pollution Control, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Deputy German Ambassador, Dr. Simon Kreye, welcomed the agreement as a significant contribution to Vietnam’s efforts to fight environmental pollution.
According to the World Bank, Vietnam is one of the major polluters of the world’s oceans. Annually, approximately 3 million tonnes of plastic waste are discharged on land in Vietnam, and an estimated 0.28 to 0.73 million tonnes of plastic waste are released into the ocean. Across Vietnam, local governments struggle to collect, transport, treat, and dispose of their growing waste streams. This situation is expected to worsen with rapid urbanization coupled with increasing economic and population growth.
ALBA Group Asia and VietCycle have joined in partnership to meet this challenge. They plan to develop a facility which will have an estimated CAPEX of up to USD 50 Million and a capacity of up to 48,000 tonnes/year; the first phase of operations is expected to start in 2024/25.
The project will use advanced technology to produce food-grade PET/HDPE resin to meet international standards set by EU and adopted by many multinational corporations.
Dr. Axel Schweitzer, Chairman and Shareholder of ALBA Group Asia is looking forward to the project: “Our vision is a world without waste. At the same time, with our holistic approach and using digitalization, our goal is 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. It will be an ideal combination of ALBA Group Asia’s global waste management and plastic recycling expertise and VietCycle’s knowledge of the local plastic network. The project will be part of a much-needed solution to Vietnam’s growing plastic waste problem. Furthermore, it will create a significant number of green jobs and will improve many people’s socioeconomic situation. For me personally, this is as important as the impact on the environment and the economic success.”
