Recycling to Be Boosted for CO2 Reduction
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
More waste materials, such as discarded paper, glass and cinder, will be recycled this year.
At least 80 percent of paper waste, 75 percent of glass waste and 75 percent of cinder - a byproduct of thermal power generation - will be reused.
Recycling waste materials contributes to the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and reduces production costs.
The Ministry of Environment announced the target recycling rate of major waste materials after reaching an agreement with related industries. The rate is an increase of 3-8 percent from last year.
This is part of the ministry's new year plan.
"Recycling has many environmental benefits, such as reducing garbage, CO2 emissions and production costs," a ministry official said. "It contributes to fighting global warming as well as making profits."
For instance, recycling one ton of paper waste reduces CO2 emissions by 1.07 tons and also saves water and electricity, according to research by Yun Yeo-chang, a ministry official.
Recycling a ton of glass bottles can decrease CO2 emissions by 0.34 tons and cinder can substitute limestone in cement-making, which has an effect of reducing CO2 emissions by 0.2-0.5 tons.
The Korea Paper Manufacturers' Association said they recycled 9.1 million tons of paper waste in 2008, thus decreasing CO2 emissions by 8.3 tons.
This is equivalent to 49,000 hectares of 30-year-old pine trees.
The recycling rate of paper in Korea has been on the rise in recent years. From 2004 to 2005, the target rate was 67 percent, but the actual rate reached 72 percent. In 2008, 83 percent was recycled.
The guidelines are applied to enterprises that produce more than 10,000 tons of paper or 20,000 tons of glass and thermal plants that provide more than 100 million kilowatt-hours. Those who do not meet the rates will be fined up to 3 million won.
However, environmental organizations question the effectiveness of the penalty, saying the fine is too small.
Better waste management is part of the government's "low carbon and green growth" scheme.
The government aims to convert organic waste such as food garbage into recycled energy by 2020.
Biogas, which is produced by refining methane gas emitted from the breakdown of organic material, is considered one of the ways to achieve this goal.
According to the Korea Forest Research Institute, 100 tons of fallen leaves can be converted into 2.2 million normal cubic meters of biogas, enough to operate 60 buses for a day.