Panasonic Vietnam starts buying back old air conditioners for recycling
Starting this month, Panasonic Vietnam will launch a pilot electronic waste recycling program to promote a circular economy, including a buyback scheme for used air conditioners for recycling.
Representatives of Panasonic Vietnam and Cao Phong Co. Ltd. at the signing ceremony for an agreement to promote the collection and recycling of electronic products in Vietnam. Photo: Supplied
On Thursday, Panasonic Vietnam Co. Ltd. said it had reached an agreement with Cao Phong Co. Ltd., one of Vietnam’s leading electronics retailers and operator of the Cho Lon electronics and furniture store chain, to pilot an electronic waste collection program in southern and central Vietnam starting in October 2026.
The program will initially focus on used air conditioners, marking Panasonic Vietnam’s first major step toward promoting the collection and recycling of electronic waste in Vietnam.
Under the program, customers who purchase Panasonic products at Cao Phong retail stores can register to sell back their used air conditioners.
The pilot program will run through March 2027, with an initial target of collecting about 500 to 1,000 used air conditioners.
Subject to the completion of the necessary permits, the collected electronic waste is expected to be dismantled, sorted by material and recycled through proper processes into reusable resources.
The program aims to assess the feasibility of electronic waste collection, as well as a commercially viable and sustainable collection and recycling model.
Panasonic Vietnam said the pilot program is intended to establish a practical system covering the collection, dismantling, material sorting and recycling of electronic waste, contributing to the development of a circular economy in Vietnam.
Takayasu Fujino, president and CEO of Panasonic Vietnam, said the company was taking the lead in collecting used household appliances in an effort to build a practical model for electronic waste collection and recycling and contribute to Vietnam’s circular economy policy.
The program comes as Vietnam’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements are set out in the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection. EPR requires manufacturers to collect and recycle products after they reach the end of their useful life and has applied to electrical and electronic products since January 1, 2025.
Vietnam, however, does not yet have a complete system for properly collecting and recycling household electrical appliances discarded by consumers. How manufacturers can fulfill their EPR obligations also remains a challenge for businesses and other stakeholders.
Vietnam has already seen efforts to collect used electronic products, with Samsung Vietnam operating a take-back system since 2016 through collection points and a hotline. However, Panasonic is taking the model a step further by offering direct financial incentives—a crucial shift in a market where consumers traditionally sell old electronics to informal scrap collectors.
Panasonic Vietnam is part of a group of seven Panasonic companies operating in Vietnam, with nearly 7,000 employees as of April 2026. Globally, Panasonic operates in areas including air conditioning, electrical equipment, AI-related infrastructure and Smart Life products and services.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, Panasonic Holdings Corporation reported consolidated net sales of about US$50.9 billion.
Van Giang - Truong Linh / Tuoi Tre News
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