How one Korean province is aiming to make plastic pollution history
While some staff do sort plastic waste by hand, much is done by machines. Magnets pull out metals. Mechanical separators weed out lighter plastics, which often can’t be recycled. And an optical sorter uses light rays to determine the composition of plastics, allowing them to be divvied up by type, which is crucial for reselling. The sale of recyclables netted Jeju 3.3 billion Korean won (US$2.3 million) in 2024, the province reports.
Processing waste at the centre costs about one-tenth of what it would to ship it to the mainland, says Geunsik Chung, head of Jeju Province's Resource Circulation Division. “I believe this facility is not just necessary for environmental reasons, but also economically very valuable.”
In Jeju, some 66 per cent of all household waste, which includes plastic, paper and other materials, is recycled, according to data from the Korean environment ministry. The global average is about 19 per cent, found a 2024 report by UNEP.
What’s happening in Jeju is part of a broader push to slow plastic pollution and promote more circular economic models in the Republic of Korea. Between 1997 and 2023, the country cut the amount of waste it sent to landfills by 72 per cent while nearly quadrupling the amount of material that it recycles, according to government statistics.
The changes followed the Seoul Declaration on Environmental Ethics, a 1997 framework designed to address a host of environmental challenges that sprung from decades of fast-paced economic growth. The country, which first hosted World Environment Day in 1997, developed a nationwide governance model to counter pollution, emphasizing collaboration among local governments, businesses and civil society. Along with reducing waste, the effort has helped to improve water quality and reduce air pollution.
“The Republic of Korea has demonstrated that development and sustainability can go hand-in-hand,” says UNEP’s Tonda. “It’s true, challenges remain, but by investing in efforts to reduce consumption of single-use plastic products, promote reuse and improve waste management, the country is creating a better, more durable future for its people.”
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World Environment Day on 5 June is the biggest international day for the environment. Led by UNEP and held annually since 1973, the event has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach, with millions of people from across the world engaging to protect the planet. This year, World Environment Day joins the UNEP-led #BeatPlasticPollution campaign to end plastic pollution.
Since 2018, the UNEP-led #BeatPlasticPollution campaign has advocated for a just, collective, and global transition to a world free of plastic pollution.
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