The objective of this study is to provide a theoretical and practical basis for the improvement of the legal framework on CE development in waste management in Vietnam. To achieve the above purpose, the study focuses on performing the following tasks:

• Learn about the experiences of some countries on the development and enforcement of laws on promoting the development of CE in waste management;
• Review of policies and laws on promoting the development of CE in waste management in Vietnam.
• Implementing field trip in Hung Yen and Vinh Phuc provinces.
• Provide orientations and solutions to improve the Vietnam’s legislation as well as the efficiency of the law enforcement for promoting CE in waste management in Vietnam.

In order to have a basis for perfecting the legal system on promoting the development of CE in waste management in Vietnam, a comparative study of international experiences is significantly necessary. To achieve the above goal, countries included in the comparative study are the Germany, Sweden, Korea and Singapore

Key findings:

• The development of policies and legal regulations on promoting CE in waste management in the countries shows different approaches (bottom-up or top-down) with wide participation of all stakeholders (producers, consumers, citizen, etc.) and towards the goal of resource cycling in waste management.
•  Parallel to the system of regulations is a system of policies that are promulgated in a timely, flexible and effective implementation.
•  In terms of waste prevention and reduction, all countries show approaches from designing, producing goods/services to changing consumption habits.
• The responsibility of the manufacturer is considered as the key factor to carry out the recycling and reuse of waste
• Regarding waste treatment, some countries have implemented strong landfill ban policies so as to improve recycling in reuse rates.

Implications for Vietnam:

For developing and perfecting the system of policies and regulations:

• A political approach that integrates the CE into sustainability strategies with stakeholder engagement;
• Integrating CE policies in the current policies of the Government;
• Comprehensive Resource Cycle Approach;
• Development of CE Indicators;

For the prevention and minimization of waste:

•  Completing the system of classification and collection of waste at source;
•  Action programs to prevent and reduce waste generation (food, plastic, nylon, etc.);
•  Waste charge by volume;
•  Regulations requiring enterprises to prepare reports and plans related to waste reduction;
• Completing the medical waste monitoring system;

For reuse and waste recycling:

• Compulsory recycling regulations;
• Studying the ban on landfilling for some types of combustible waste and organic waste;
• Developing regulations to identify recyclable and non-recyclable resources;
• Developing standards for recyclable materials;
• Researching and promulgating public procurement policies;
• Applying EPR to service activities;

For waste treatment:

• Landfill tax;
• Climate tax on waste incineration