Is a Garbage Crisis Repeating?... Ministry of Environment Warns of "Fines" Amid Refusal to Collect Waste

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of Environment has warned that it will impose administrative sanctions such as fines and disposal bans on companies that actually refuse to collect waste in relation to the waste collection refusal notice incident in Cheongju City. This strong response aims to prevent a 'waste collection crisis' caused by the aftermath of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Ministry of Environment and Cheongju City: "Administrative sanctions will proceed if collection refusal occurs"

Recently, some collection and sorting companies in Cheongju City have collected only high-value waste paper and scrap metal, citing deteriorating profitability, and have requested public collection by local governments for low-value waste vinyl and waste plastics. They declared that if their demands are not accepted, they will start refusing collection from September 1.

In response, the Ministry of Environment and Cheongju City stated, "It violates fairness with other apartment complexes that have adjusted sales prices according to the price linkage system," and "only uniform public collection for all items (not just some items) is possible."

They also announced, "Administrative procedures will be carried out against companies that actually refuse collection according to relevant laws, and the affected apartment complexes will be immediately switched to public responsibility collection led by local governments."

Since August 22, Cheongju City has been officially confirming the intentions of companies that announced collection refusal. They plan to recommend price adjustments and contract renewals as much as possible, but if actual collection refusal occurs, they will proceed with administrative sanctions such as fines and temporary waste disposal bans.

The current situation in Cheongju City is understood to be due to an increase in disposable items caused by COVID-19 and a decline in the sales price of PET recycled raw materials. Accordingly, the Ministry of Environment plans to deploy 10,000 resource managers with the third supplementary budget (about 42.2 billion KRW) to improve the quality of recyclables and increase processing volume to enhance market profitability.

A worker is sorting out non-recyclable waste at the recycling processing facility within the Seoul Songpa-gu Resource Circulation Park. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Improvement in Plastic PE and PP Recycling Market... "Monitoring PET Closely"

The Ministry of Environment stated that the recycling market for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) among plastic recycled raw materials has shown some improvement compared to May.

Regarding polyethylene terephthalate (PET) among plastic recycled raw materials, since May, the publicly stockpiled volume has been shipped out due to the resumption of exports, but close monitoring of the supply stage is necessary. Initially, 8,500 tons were planned for public stockpiling, but after reaching 6,256 tons on the 4th of last month, shipments have continued without additional stockpiling, leaving 5,920 tons in stock as of July 1.

According to daily recycling market surveys, polyethylene (PE) recycled raw materials, which are recycled into products such as sewer pipes, have seen improved distribution flow due to increased exports, with sales volume and prices rising as of the end of last month.

Polypropylene (PP) recycled raw materials, recycled into automotive interior materials, had a somewhat stagnant market until recently. However, with automobile production recovering in May compared to April, both sales volume and prices increased compared to the previous month.

For waste vinyl, the storage volume at sorting centers is similar to that in May but remains somewhat higher than last year.

The waste clothing recycling market largely depends on overseas exports. Although border closures by importing countries due to COVID-19 had caused severe backlogs, export volumes have recently been gradually increasing, improving distribution conditions.

The Ministry of Environment, considering past export delays, has been partially supporting storage costs for waste clothing export companies from this month to alleviate market backlogs. Inquiries about waste clothing storage cost support are handled by the Korea Environment Corporation.

Ministry of Environment to Establish 'Standard Contract' for Waste Paper Recycling Market

Meanwhile, as part of measures to stabilize the recycling market, the Ministry of Environment will hold a public hearing on the 7th in Jung-gu, Seoul, to finalize a standard contract between the waste paper recycling industry (raw material industry) and the paper industry.

The waste paper recycling market has faced criticism for instability due to large fluctuations in delivery prices depending on market conditions, as raw materials were supplied without contracts between the waste paper recycling industry and the paper industry. The Ministry of Environment has prepared a standard contract form through discussions with the industry and plans to establish the standard contract through this public hearing.

Lee Young-gi, Director of the Resource Circulation Policy Division at the Ministry of Environment, said, "The government will minimize instability in the recycling market caused by COVID-19 and other factors and will closely monitor related situations to respond immediately to prevent inconveniences such as collection refusals for the public."