Imports of certain waste plastics to be limited in S. Korea

The Ministry of Environment released an official announcement on waste import restrictions on June 29.

The purpose of the restrictions becoming effective on June 30 is to limit the imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) so that recycling of waste plastics in South Korea can be promoted, waste plastic accumulation in South Korea can be slowed down and environmental pollution attributable to waste plastics can be prevented.

The restrictions are not applied to recycled materials not subject to waste import reporting, examples of which include uncontaminated flakes and pellets. Importing as usual is possible when it comes to items that already received an import permit and whose report is already accepted.

In addition, if necessary, regional environmental agencies can grant a special import permit in view of waste accumulation and recycling market conditions. Examples of such cases include when domestic substitute procurement is not easy.