[Consumer Climate Action Column] Install Separate Paper Carton Recycling Bins for Resource Circulation

Co-Representative Lee Cha-kyung of the Consumer Climate Action Association

On December 10, 2020, the Government of the Republic of Korea declared the ‘2050 Carbon Neutrality Vision.’

‘Carbon neutrality’ refers to reducing greenhouse gases emitted from the use of fossil fuels and other sources, and offsetting or removing the inevitably emitted greenhouse gases through forests, wetlands, and other means, so that the net emissions become ‘0.’

Accordingly, changes are occurring in various fields, with one representative example being the transition to a ‘plastic-free’ society.

The Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters is running a series of ‘Consumer Climate Action Columns’ to empathize with and participate in the plastic-free movement.

Paper cartons are made from ‘premium pulp,’ which is 2 to 3 times more expensive than regular paper, and produced from the highest quality wood imported from the United States, Germany, and Northern Europe. Properly recycling paper cartons can create a variety of products ranging from high-quality toilet paper and hand towels to packaging materials. Since Korea relies 100% on imported natural pulp, effectively recycling paper cartons can yield an economic benefit of 65 billion KRW annually.

Approximately 70,000 tons of paper cartons are produced annually, and if all of these are recycled, it would be possible to produce 210 million rolls of 50-meter toilet paper. This amount is enough for one-third of the Korean population to use for one year and has the same effect as planting 1.3 million 20-year-old trees.

Several local governments, including Gwangsan-gu and Nam-gu in Gwangju Metropolitan City, Sejong City, Paju City, Bucheon City, and Gyeongsan City, have already installed and operate separate collection bins for paper cartons.

To increase the recycling rate of paper cartons, the Ministry of Environment should expand the nationwide installation of separate paper carton collection bins to improve collection rates. The government and local governments are responsible for preparing a blueprint for recycling policies and managing the entire process from production, disposal, to treatment to ensure material circulation.

According to the Ministry of Environment, the recycling rate of paper cartons was 25.6% in 2016, which is very low compared to the recycling rates of glass bottles and metal cans, which are 70-80%. Moreover, this figure has been decreasing from 25.6% in 2014 to 22.5% in 2017 and 16.0% in 2020. Although the demand for paper cartons is increasing, the collection volume is not rising, so the recycling rate is naturally declining.

Korea ranks second in the world for separate collection rates, following Germany, but only 30-40% of the collected waste is recycled, with the rest incinerated or landfilled. Resources that consumers have painstakingly separated are not properly recycled and are being discarded.

A paper titled ‘Improvement Measures for Paper Carton Recycling through Analysis of Paper Carton Separate Collection’ by Kim Hye-jin et al., published in the proceedings of the 2015 Korean Waste Circulation Society Autumn Conference, identified the top reasons for failure to separate paper cartons as 1) absence of separate collection bins and 2) lack of publicity.

Although 80% of residents in nationwide apartment complexes separate paper cartons for disposal, they discard them together with waste paper due to the absence of separate collection bins. When paper cartons are mixed with waste paper, recycling companies must re-sort them after collection, which lowers productivity and causes companies to avoid handling them.

The demand for paper cartons, especially aseptic cartons, as packaging materials that can replace plastic is continuously increasing. Therefore, the need to establish a circular infrastructure to recycle this valuable resource is also growing. This is not a complicated issue at all.

Just as transparent PET bottle collection bins were installed in nationwide apartment complexes from last December to mandate separate collection of transparent PET bottles, one more collection bin for paper cartons can be installed. If the Ministry of Environment creates guidelines and local governments implement them, the problem will be solved.

Consumers separate and dispose of paper cartons, and companies collect, sort, and recycle them. The government should support these companies and create conditions for smooth operation.

Consumers endure inconvenience and diligently separate waste. We urge the government to actively build infrastructure so that these efforts can contribute to resource circulation. Once the perspective is clear, the solution is simple.

To realize carbon neutrality by 2050, we must first minimize the use of new resources and strive to recycle as much of the resources already in circulation as possible.