Press Release

Board View

ME to Speed up deregulation for waste recycling

▷ The Ministry of Environment will expand the scope of circular resources and establish systems to utilize CCUS technology and pyrolysis oil from plastic waste


Sejong, September 5 - The Ministry of Environment (Minister Han Wha-jin) will significantly ease the criteria for recognizing circular resources. At the same time, the ministry will establish a system to recycle pyrolysis oil from waste plastics and recycle Co2 captured using CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) technology.  


The Ministry of Environment made a pre-announcement of legislation to revise the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Resources Circulation for forty days from August 31, 2022. The ministry will expand the type of recycling of captured carbon and pyrolysis oil from plastic waste through the government's active administration. The Ministry of Environment prepared the revision as a follow-up measure to the 1st Regulations Innovation Strategy Meeting chaired by the President on August 26. It went through the deliberation of the active administration committee. 


First, according to the revised Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Resources Circulation, the criteria for recognizing circular resources will be significantly eased. A substance will no longer be subject to waste-related regulations once it is recognized as a circular resource. Since 2018, ME has instigated the "Circular resources recognition system," which recognizes wastes that are valuable and not harmful to humans or the environment as circular resources and exempts them from all obligations except for reporting annual production. However, there have been criticisms, too, that the requirements are overly stringent and render the system ineffective. It is because, in addition to its environmental and monetary values, a substance must satisfy nine additional standards outlined in the Enforcement Decree to be recognized as a circular resource. This revision condenses these nine regulations down to two: 1) a substance must not be incinerated, buried, or discharged into the sea, and 2) the use of a substance must comply with the purpose recognized at the time of application. With the revision, the substances with their environmental and monetary values will be used in various ways without restrictions. As a result, it will lower the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during incineration and reclamation and significantly lessen the burden of waste management in the private sector. The ministry aims to complete the revision this year and plans to conduct surveys and the final draft during the legislative notice. Details of the revised bill can be found on the ministry's website (me.go.kr).


Moreover, starting August 31, pyrolysis oil from waste plastics will be used as raw material such as naphtha and diesel for petrochemical products instead of crude oil to make various plastic products. The Ministry of Environment made a pre-announcement of legislation to revise the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Resources Circulation for forty days from March 4 and went through the deliberation of the active administration committee. Until recently, the use of pyrolysis oil was limited to fuel, but the ministry broadened its use for petrochemical products. Furthermore, a pyrolysis plant, which used to be categorized as an incineration plant, is now newly categorized as a chemicals recycling plant. The ministry also set the standards for installation and inspection, befitting the attributes of pyrolysis. The Enforcement Decree also stipulates the recycling standard, where over 50% of plastic waste must be retrieved as pyrolysis oil. Pyrolyzing plastic waste, which is difficult to recycle because of composite material and mixed substances, will reduce the amount of plastic waste incinerated and reclaimed. Thus, the practice will help achieve carbon neutrality and a circular economy. 


Another new recyclable resource, such as carbons captured through CCUS technology, will be used to make building materials, including aggregate, cement, and concrete. It will also use for producing rubber, fiber, or synthetic resin products. Until now, carbonic acids, a mixture of wastes like steel slags and concrete wastes, and carbon dioxide, were defined as waste that cannot be recycled other than for the purposes specified in the Wastes Control Act. Therefore, despite the current legislation, the Ministry of Environment introduced a bill proposing the recycling of calcium carbonate made with captured carbons as a construction material in special districts, including Ulsan and Chungcheongnam-do, together with the pyrolysis oil-related agenda to the active administration committee. 


Jeong Seon-hwa, Director-General of the Resources Circulation Bureau, said, "Up to this point, waste-related legislation failed to keep up with the advancement of recycling technologies. During the Regulations Innovation Strategy Meeting, the Ministry of Environment promised to pursue innovative environmental deregulations that lead to creativity in the private sector. We will incessantly detect unnecessary regulations and modify them to earn the consensus from the people in the relevant fields."


Contact: Kang Ji-yeon, Deputy Director

Resource Circulation Policy Division / +82-(0)44-201-7349


Foreign Media Contact: Chun Minjo(Rachel)

+82-(0)44-201-6055 / rachelmchun@korea.kr