Since October, 18 districts in Ho Chi Minh City have been added to the programme for the collection of used beverage cartons through the VECA app, an addition of four more districts since the first phase.

Tetra Pak ties up with VECA to expand used beverage carton collection

These four areas are among the biggest in Ho Chi Minh City and include Tan Phu, Go Vap, Binh Tan, and Thu Duc. Ten condominiums in the city now have extra collection sites set up by Tetra Pak and VECA. After a network expansion of six months, it is anticipated that the volume of cartons collected will exceed 6 tonnes.

Sustainability manager at Tetra Pak Luong Thanh Thu said, "We are dedicated to a circular economy with zero carbon emissions in every facet of our business. This very commitment focuses on working with recyclers to widen the network of carton collections as well as helping food and beverage producers adhere to extended producer responsibility regulations. Our goal is to develop a culture of carton recycling in the community and collect used cartons anywhere, at any time."

Since the end of last year, cartons have been included in the VECA app's list of collections. Similar to ride-hailing services, VECA connects those who want to sell scrap with nearby collectors, providing transparent rates for both parties.

Positive results have been seen in the programme's first phase, which was carried out using the VECA app. More than 2 tonnes of used cartons were collected, with a total of 7,300 orders for scrap placed through the app up to the end of August.

The carton price on the VECA app is currently VND2.000 (81 US cents) per kg.

Bui The Bao, founder of VECA stated, "The VECA app was launched in the middle of 2020 and has been regularly updated and improved. There are currently 32,000 users. Our goal is to boost app downloads and usage by extending the list of collections and working with manufacturers to make garbage collection simpler and more convenient. We have attracted more app users as a result of the introduction of cartons to the collection list. In order to achieve the goal of a Zero-Waste Vietnam, we hope that the initiative to broaden our carton collection network in those significant districts will inspire more collectors to use the app."

Tetra Pak is putting various ideas into action to promote Vietnam's low-carbon circular economy. The company closely collaborates with recycling partners to increase the capacity and quality of recycled products.

One notable initiative is its $1.24 million investment in the Dong Tien Paper Factory with the goal of enhancing and amplifying the plant's capacity for recycling used cartons from 9,000 to 17,000 tonnes per year.

Tetra Pak, in collaboration with the Vietnam Packaging Recycling Alliance (PRO Vietnam), kicked off a pilot programme in Ho Chi Minh City in 2022 to collect and recycle used beverage cartons in the neighbourhood. The programme will run from August 2022 to March 2023 with a view to collecting and completely recycling 3,000 tonnes of beverage cartons, transforming them into useful products like paperboard materials and bio-roof panels.

The number of drop-off locations nationwide has increased to 76 as a result of the company's tight collaboration with partners, particularly big merchants like AEON Mall and MM Mega Market, to expand the collection network into more communities.