To curb the increase in wastes and save resources, the Korean government is tightening regulations on product packaging and resource recycling.  In particular, through the amendment to the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources (the “Resource Recycling Act”), subordinate statutes and relevant administrative rules, major changes have been made to (i) regulations on packaging materials, packaging methods and labeling of recyclability of packaging materials and (ii) regulations on disposable products and plastics.  Please see below for updates on these regulations. 

1.   Updates on Product Packaging Regulations
 

(1)   Labeling of the recyclability of packaging material and packaging structure 

• Businesses that are “Responsible Producers” (having certain recycling obligations under the law) must mark on their product packaging a grade on how recyclable their product packaging is (in terms of materials used and packaging structure) within six months from receiving their evaluation from the Korea Environment Corporation.  (Article 9-3 of the Resource Recycling Act)

• In particular, a “difficult to recycle” grade must be marked as such by March 24, 2021 at the latest.  This is because, according to the Ministry of Environment (the “MOE”), any business that submitted its own evaluation and identified its packaging with a “difficult to recycle” grade before the end of the relevant grace period, September 24, 2020, was deemed to have received the evaluation under the Resource Recycling Act above.

(2)   Proposed partial amendment to the Standard on Labeling Grade for Packaging Materials and Structure (MOE Notification) (effective as of March 24, 2021)

• If the MOE finds that the manufacturer is able to meet the recovery rate targets of 15% by 2023, 30% by 2025 and 70% or more by 2030 through its own collection system, displaying the “difficult to recycle” grade will not be required.

(3)   Proposed partial amendment to the Guidance on Labels for Separate Discharge (MOE notification) (put on administrative notice on February 24, 2021)

• A new label for recycling was created to indicate that a body part of the packaging material contains another type of material that was mixed into, sprayed to, or attached to the packaging material (see below for the new label).  The new label is for packaging materials that received a “difficult to recycle” grade based on the evaluation of their materials and structure. 
  

• In accordance with the requirement to recycle clear PET bottles, the recycling label “PET” will be changed to “Clear PET.”  In accordance with the prohibition on using PVC materials for packaging, the recycling label “PVC” for plastics and vinyl materials will no longer be used.

(4)   Partial amendment to the Criteria for Grading Recyclability of Packaging Materials (MOE Notification) (effective as of January 7, 2021)

• For glass bottles, the following factors have been deleted from the basis for determining “difficult to recycle”: (i) whether surface of the bottle was coated or colored, and (ii) whether the product label was printed and integrated as part of the bottle.

• PET bottles with their labels attached to the caps and PET bottles that do not have any labels will receive the “best for recycling” grade.

(5)   Proposed partial amendment to the Rules on Criteria for Packaging Materials and Methods for Products (the “Product Packaging Rules”) (MOE Ordinance) (put on legislative notice on October 30, 2020)

• The proposed amendment extends the Product Packaging Rules to packaging for shipping purposes.

• The proposed amendment advises using recycling-friendly materials for packaging for shipping purposes.

• The proposed amendment prohibits attaching other miscellaneous materials to packaging materials and attaching straws to beverage products.

2.   Updates on Resource Recycling Regulations
 

(1)   Partial amendment to the Notification of Regulations on Use of Disposable Products (ban on providing disposable bags for free) (effective as of February 23, 2021)

• The partial amendment revised the relevant notification to reflect the amendment on December 31, 2018 to the Enforcement Rules of the Resource Recycling Act, which added “restriction in use” in addition to the ban on providing free disposable bags.

(2)   Proposed partial amendment to the Resource Recycling Act (put on legislative notice on February 16, 2021)

• Regarding businesses that sell plastic-made products or containers (“Plastic Products”) of a certain size or greater, the partial amendment allows the MOE to impose an annual target for their ratio of Plastic Products and non-Plastic Products they sell.   

• In addition to the standard on packaging structure and recyclability of packaging materials that applies to the Responsible Producers, the partial amendment establishes the criteria for thickness and color of the packaging materials and packaging weight ratio.

• The partial amendment permits the marking of the ratio of recycled materials used in a product on products that are made of recycled materials.  The partial amendment further requires local governments to purchase a certain percentage of products bearing such marks.

(3)   Proposed partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Resource Recycling Act (out on legislative notice on February 16, 2021)

• Businesses that sell products using disposable cups shall be subject to the “disposable cup deposit policy” that was introduced pursuant to the amendment to the Resource Recycling Act on June 9, 2020, which deferred to the administrative notification as to which businesses in particular will be subject to this policy (e.g., business which sells beverages using disposable cups). 

• The partial amendment adds plastic manufacturers to the list of designated businesses that are obligated to use recycled materials (under the current law, paper, glass and metal manufacturers are under this obligation). 

• To discourage the use of plastic straws, stirring sticks and disposable “wet umbrella bags” made of vinyl, the partial amendment adds these items to the list of regulated disposable products.

(4)   Proposed partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Resource Recycling Act (put on legislative notice on February 16, 2021)

• In anticipation of introducing the “disposable cup deposit policy” pursuant to the amendment to the Resource Recycling Act on June 9, 2020, the partial amendment prescribes, among others, restricting the use of (i) disposable bags at bakeries and “multi-retail” shops and (ii) disposable paper cups, plastic straws and stirring sticks at restaurants and cafeterias for large groups.