1 Landfill – A lesser yet ailing method

In waste disposal, 'landfill' refers to the process of dumping waste into pits or depressions in the landscape and then flattening the area with soil once it's complete. In simpler terms, it's burying the waste.

The Seoul Metropolitan Area Landfill, responsible for the waste of the capital region, is operated under the management of the Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation (SLC), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Environment. It processes domestic waste from the capital region, including Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province. Historically part of Gimpo City due to its location in the Incheon Geomdan area, it's now a massive facility spanning from Incheon's Seo-gu to Yangchon-eup in Gimpo City, shaped like an 'L.'

Formerly a literal dumpsite plagued with foul odors and swarms of flies, the facility has transformed through investments. Now, golf courses or parks sit atop, and the methane gas produced from the landfill is converted into electricity for profit.

Landfill, by its nature, favors countries with expansive lands, and in nations with limited territory, saturation of landfill sites poses significant issues. Consequently, along with unpopular incineration plants, it becomes a subject of political negotiation. Even a cursory look at the Seoul Metropolitan Area Landfill reveals conflicts, such as those arising from Incheon's refusal to extend landfill deadlines and its use as a bargaining chip in discussions about Gimpo City's incorporation into Seoul.

As of 2020, the amount of plastic treated through landfilling is 600,000 tons. Considering the total generation of 9.6 million tons, this represents a somewhat modest 6.2%. The plastics ending up in landfills include non-recyclable thermosetting plastics and PVC from industrial waste, but the majority comes from household trash. Plastics, especially vinyl and small-sized items, are packed in pay-as-you-throw garbage bags and end up in landfills, thus burying non-decomposable waste in the ground. It's a reality that plastics, which take over 500 years to decompose, are being disposed of in these bags.

A notable effort to minimize landfilling is the Zero Waste To Landfill (ZWTL) certification, overseen by UL Solutions, America's first safety certification company. This certification categorizes efforts to eliminate landfilling based on the proportion of recycling in total waste output, dividing into three levels: ▲ Platinum (100% recycling rate), ▲ Gold (95-99%), and ▲ Silver (90-94%). The Osan Beauty Site, Daejeon Daily Beauty Site, and Cosvision Site have all achieved the Platinum rating, a first in the domestic cosmetics industry. This signifies the international recognition of achieving 100% recycling of waste output. The Healthcare Site is also preparing for ZWTL certification. ZWTL is being pursued not only in manufacturing but also in the service and construction industries. Amorepacific is the only company in the domestic cosmetics industry to have achieved this certification, signifying its substantial efforts and commitment to zero landfilling.

2 Incineration – Practically Sound, But…

The dictionary defines incineration as "destruction by burning." In South Korea, the proportion of waste incinerated exceeds that of landfilled. Specifically for plastics, the amount incinerated is a staggering 6.7 million tons, over 11 times higher than landfilled. Seoul manages 2,200 tons of waste through five locations, including Mok-dong, while Incheon processes 960 tons in Songdo and Cheongna. Across the metropolitan area, each city or its neighboring cities and counties handles incineration. Plastics from household waste are processed through municipal incinerators. In contrast, waste from businesses is converted into SRF (Solid Refuse Fuel), sent to power plants as waste plastic, or used as a supplementary fuel in cement production.

The reason for the high rate of incineration in plastic disposal is that many plastics, failing to be recycled, end up being incinerated. Despite diligent recycling efforts in apartments and houses, the reality is different. Plastics collected often arrive contaminated or colored, hindering recycling. The amount of plastic rejected during the sorting process often exceeds that accepted.

Incineration is not inherently wrong. For medical waste, incineration is the right choice due to infection risks. Its most significant advantage is reducing waste volume by up to 1/100th, a practical method for countries with limited land. Japan, for example, relies on incineration for about 70% of its waste. In the past, incineration was the final step, but now, it serves as an alternative fuel to coal or is used for cogeneration and electricity production, extracting energy one more time.

The Ministry of Environment has decreed that direct landfilling of household waste will be banned starting in 2026. Therefore, metropolitan cities must establish and operate regional incineration plants. In Seoul, plans to build a new incinerator in Sangam-dong have met resistance, and in Incheon, construction of a regional incineration plant is stalled due to local opposition. Although incineration inevitably produces air pollutants, stricter air quality laws mean any exceedance in emissions is automatically reported to the Ministry of Environment through TMS, allowing residents to monitor harmful substances in real time.

3 Recycling – The Biggest Rival is the New Product

The last column focused on recycling. Despite many constraints on physical recycling and the blockage of overseas processing methods, there has been significant progress, especially with chemical recycling, represented by pyrolysis oil, entering the commercialization phase.

Ideally, plastics should be processed through recycling and reuse, but economic considerations cannot be ignored. The fundamental nature of plastic recycling is inversely proportional to oil prices. For instance, in October 2020, during the COVID period, compressed PET was traded at an average of 209 KRW, but in October this year, it reached 506 KRW. Meanwhile, international oil prices, based on Dubai crude, rose from 41 to 93 USD. From my experience, when international oil prices were 30-40 USD, recycling companies refused to process packaging PP bands, citing unprofitability, leading to disposal at the company's expense. Conversely, when prices hit 80 USD, recyclers paid to take the same waste.

ESG has indeed accelerated the commercialization of plastic treatment technology. However, chemical recycling, the new hope of plastic recycling, is not a panacea and is still economically unviable compared to new products due to its higher cost.

For recycling to be economically viable and achieve economies of scale, recycling rates must be increased. If the costs wasted in sorting and discarding were eliminated, the proportion of recycling could be raised. Wouldn't the price of recycled materials decrease as more regenerated materials become available? The PET bottle separate collection system is a starting point in this context.

Amorepacific, deeply empathetic with customers, society, and nature, strives to create a new paradigm in producing, purchasing, using, and disposing of plastic products. Through collaborations, it has replaced plastics with paper and developed eco-pumps without metal springs. By developing paper containers and supplying recycled PE and PP plastics, the company aims to transition all its products to recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2030.