Possible trash bag shortage looms as Middle East crisis depletes raw material supply

Piles of waste are stacked at a recycling sorting facility in Seoul. / Yonhap

The government has launched a nationwide inspection of trash bag stockpiles amid concerns that the U.S.-Israel war on Iran could lead to supply shortages.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said Friday that it had asked local governments across the country to conduct a preemptive review of trash bag inventories after manufacturers notified authorities that they had enough raw materials to last only about a month.

Trash bags are made using linear low-density polyethylene, or LLDPE, and high-density polyethylene, or HDPE, both of which are derived from naphtha, a crude oil-based feedstock. Growing uncertainty over naphtha supply linked to disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up prices for a range of petroleum-based products.

A survey by the Korea Federation of Plastics Industry Cooperatives found that the supply price of polyethylene rose by 200,000 won ($133) in March alone. Some companies were also reportedly told that the supply price of LLDPE could rise by an additional 400,000 won to 800,000 won.

Local governments are believed to have enough trash bags in reserve to avert an immediate shortage, but the longer-term outlook could become uncertain if disruptions in raw material supply continue. Korea is estimated to produce 1.8 billion trash bags a year.

In 2024, the country produced around 1.44 billion standard trash bags, including 500 million made of HDPE and 44 million made of LLDPE, accounting for 36 percent and 3.1 percent of the total, respectively. The overall number of polyethylene-based waste bags was even higher when including food waste and recycling bags, which together reached around 1 billion units.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.