Korea urged to diversify feedstock for plastic recycling

Participants in a debate on preparing for the mandatory use of recycled materials in PET bottle manufacturing pose at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. The event was hosted by the Korea Federation of Environmental Movements, Rep. Kang Deuk-gu and his fellow lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Courtesy of Kang's office

Korea's heavy reliance on domestically discarded colorless PET bottles for plastic recycling has emerged as a major obstacle to the government's plan to require beverage companies to use at least 10 percent recycled materials in PET bottle production starting next year.

Kim Dae-wung, director of the Sustainability Management Division at the Korea Chemical Industry Association, warned that beverage companies will face shortages of qualified feedstock and rising production costs if Korea continues to depend only on colorless PET bottles discarded within its borders.

"Although companies should prioritize using plastic waste generated in Korea, the government should allow a certain proportion of recyclable waste plastic from overseas for the time being," Kim said Thursday during a debate on preparing for the mandatory use of recycled materials in PET bottle manufacturing.

Unlike Korea, which does not recognize imported plastic waste as fulfilling the obligation to use recycled materials, the European Union accepts feedstock from any country as long as it meets quality standards.

Yoo Bong-joon, director of the Industrial Promotion Department at the Korea Food Industry Association, also expressed concern about the shortage of high-quality feedstock for recycling.

"Demand for recycled materials is rising not only in our food industry, which is required to use recycled materials, but also in the medical, automotive and electronics industries," he said.

Hong Su-yoel, director of the Resource Circulation Society & Economy Institute, estimated that 17,500 tons of recyclable plastic will be needed yearly if the mandatory 10 percent recycled content rule for PET bottles takes effect next year. According to Hong's analysis, the annual requirement would rise to 52,500 tons if the rate increases to 30 percent by 2030 under the government's plan.

To meet surging demand, Kim called on the government to support depolymerization, a chemical process that breaks down polyester into smaller molecules for recycling, enabling potentially infinite recycling of polyester waste.

"Depolymerization makes it possible to recycle colored PET bottles, multilayer film, composite materials, contaminated plastic and wasted fiber," Kim said. "Unlike mechanical recycling, which ultimately leads to incineration or landfill of used plastic, depolymerization enables infinite recycling and dramatically reduces plastic waste."

He emphasized that Korean companies have already developed the necessary technologies, urging the government to introduce support measures such as incentives and infrastructure to sort materials suited for depolymerization.

He added that it is necessary to expand the mandatory use of recycled materials to other sectors through depolymerization, and proposed the establishment of a “plastic-free roadmap” through collaboration among industry, academia, research institutes and government.