Abstract
With an increasing use of plastic, considerable plastic waste is generated, threatening the environment and public health. In particular, changes in living patterns in urban areas have significantly impacted the rate at which plastic waste increases every year. Thus, governments in many developed countries have implemented numerous policies to reduce plastic waste generation. Among them is the concept of circular economy that aims to protect the environment from plastic pollution and promote growth and innovation in industry and human life through overall changes in designing, producing, using, and recycling plastic products. The Korean government has implemented the Resource Circulation Act (RCA), which includes the concept of circular economy and resource efficiency policy for overall waste management. Following the concept of RCA, the Plastic Waste Control Plan (PWCP) was established for the comprehensive management of plastic waste. Therefore, this study introduces the goals and strategies of PWCP, which has a circulation system of four stages of production, consumption, discharge, and recycling, as well as the major roadblocks in the stages impeding the achievement of the goals and strategies. This study also suggests countermeasures at the government level for solving the major problems in the four stages.
Highlights
Due to their flexibility in terms of performance and processing, plastics are widely used in various industrial fields such as advanced electronic products, automobiles, construction, and disposable products
Plastic Waste Control Plan (PWCP) follows the concept of Resource Circulation Act (RCA) and has three main strategies based on the basic framework of the Resource Circulation Master Plan (RCMP): (1) to re-establish the production and consumption structures of plastic products wherein the generation of plastic waste is suppressed; (2) to introduce a circulation system with four stages, like RCMP, and prepare the improvement plan for each stage to minimize the waste generation and maximize the recycling stage; and (3) to reinforce the accountability of each participant in the circulation system
Since the waste policy in Korea began with the Waste Control Act enacted in the 1980s, it was followed by the RCA, including the concept of a circular economy and a resource efficiency policy, established in 2016 and implemented in 2018
Summary
Due to their flexibility in terms of performance and processing, plastics are widely used in various industrial fields such as advanced electronic products, automobiles, construction, and disposable products. The European Union has adopted a plastic management strategy that includes three basic aims [9]: (1) to promote a circulation system, which includes designing plastic products, discharging after consumption, separating for collection, recycling the plastic products, and encouraging demand for recycled products; (2) to reduce the discarding and abandoning of plastic waste; and (3) to expand research and investment for the circulation system of plastics This strategy was established as a comprehensive response to two of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [10] released in 2015: “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns” (12th goal) and “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development” (14th goal). PWCP has three basic strategies to achieve the stated goals: (1) to re-establish production and consumption structures to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated; (2) to prepare a step-by-step improvement plan in the circulation system including production, consumption, discharge, and recycling stages; and (3) to reinforce the responsibilities of each agent such as government, municipalities, producers, and consumers
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