Starting as early as June next year, plastic straws and stirrers will be banned in coffee shops

Ministry of Environment Announces Legislative Notice for Amendments to the "Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources" and Its Subordinate Statutes

Accommodation Businesses with 50 or More Rooms Added to Single-Use Product Regulation Targets
LED Lighting Also Added to Products Subject to Recycling Obligations

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[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Starting as early as June next year, the use of paper cups and plastic straws and stirrers will be banned in coffee shops.

On the 15th, the Ministry of Environment announced that it will publicly notify the amendment to the "Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling Resources" and its subordinate statutes for 41 days from the 16th to March 29.

First, the Enforcement Rules of the Resource Recycling Act were amended to expand the scope of single-use product regulations and items subject to usage restrictions. The main point is to ban the use of paper cups and plastic straws and stirrers inside food and beverage service establishments such as coffee shops.

Considering that public notification usually takes more than 40 days, followed by about two months of regulatory review and about two months of legislative review, the law is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly around September this year, and the subordinate statutes are expected to be amended around June to July. Since the enforcement date is one year after promulgation, from as early as June, paper cups and plastic straws and stirrers will no longer be allowed to be used inside coffee shops.

Along with this, through the amendment of the Recycling Act, plastic bags, which are currently banned in large stores (over 3,000㎡) and supermarkets (over 165㎡), will also be banned in general retail businesses and bakeries, and the use of plastic umbrella covers will be prohibited in large stores. Additionally, grounds will be established to restrict the provision of single-use products in accommodation businesses (with 50 or more rooms), funeral homes equipped with washing facilities, and food delivery services.

As the use of LED lighting has recently increased instead of fluorescent lamps, the Enforcement Decree will be amended to newly add LED lighting to products subject to recycling obligations starting in 2023. Accordingly, when disposing of waste LED lighting in the future, the space of the fluorescent lamp collection boxes installed in existing apartment complexes will be divided into two sections: one for fluorescent lamps and the other for waste LED lighting.

In 2023, when the system is implemented, manufacturers producing LED lighting will be obligated to recycle 109,000 tons, which is 15.7% of the expected production volume (693,000 tons). After five years, the recycling obligation rate is expected to be set at about 42%. The Ministry of Environment plans to establish waste classification and recycling standards and methods for LED lighting within the first half of this year.

This amendment introduces standards for the thickness, color, and packaging weight ratio of producer responsibility recycling packaging to encourage the production of packaging that is easy to recycle from the manufacturing stage. Specific standards such as thickness, color, and packaging weight ratio will be determined by notification after legislation.

The amendment also includes provisions to encourage switching plastic containers to other materials such as cans and glass. It sets targets for the import and sales ratio of plastic products and containers for users who import or sell plastic products and containers above a certain scale. However, materials with high collection and recycling rates among plastics will be excluded from the ratio calculation.

Businesses that fail to meet the targets will receive improvement orders, and if they do not comply with these orders, a fine of 10 million KRW will be imposed.

Additionally, the amendment allows the recycling material usage ratio to be displayed on products and mandates public institutions to compulsorily purchase recycled products that comply with this. For example, local governments will be required to compulsorily purchase products with indicated recycled material ratios such as PET at a certain minimum level.

Hong Dong-gon, Director of Resource Circulation Policy at the Ministry of Environment, said, "Through this amendment, we will promote measures to reduce plastic and expand recycling announced in the 'Plastic Waste Reduction Measures for Household Waste' and continuously improve related systems."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.