International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

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� Improvement of materials and structure in products so that they are easy to
recycle;
� Separate collection of waste products so that there is no cost to the person
disposing of them. This includes the need for vehicle producers/importers to
contract with recyclers for ELV processing;
� Producers/importers of vehicles are prescribed an annual recycling target by
Presidential Decree. However, since the implementation of the Act, such a
Decree and hence national recycling rates have not yet been set; and
� Recycling Information Network database that vehicle producers/importers can
use to provide recyclers with information about material composition and
recycling methods for their products, “to the extent confidential business
information is not disclosed”.
There is significant vehicle manufacturing in Korea, but the reprocessing industry is
much larger. The number of ELVs dismantled in the country is 3 times is the number
produced. Thus, nationally, the demand for ELVs exceeds the supply. This has allowed
for ELVs to be sold to dismantlers on an open market and thus the obligation to take
back vehicles was only required in the minority of cases.
National legislation was further developed because Korea wished to develop the
same high standards that are set out in the EU ELV directive. The 2007 Act provides
for four different types of recyclers that process end-of-life vehicles:
� Vehicle recyclers dismantle vehicles and recycle its parts to the maximum
extent possible; then transfer the vehicle body and "residues" to shredders;
� Vehicle shredding recyclers recover metallic materials from the residues and
shred the rest of the dismantled vehicle; then transfer "shredder residues" to a
residue recycler;
� Vehicle shredder residue recyclers recover metallic materials from shredder
residues; then recycle and/or recover energy from the residues to the
maximum extent possible; and
� Discarded gas recyclers who segregate and store substances that cause
climate change.
In several countries in the EU - notably Sweden and the Netherlands - as recycling
rates increase further R&D is being undertaken into processes that recover material
from the shredder residue. So it is a forward thinking part of the policy that Korea
includes shredder residue recyclers in its structure.
The previously poor reporting and control over standards of the recycling network in
Korea has resulted in stricter mechanisms of enforcement, such as quarterly reports
from the recyclers, recycling associations and vehicle producers, that are to be
submitted to the Ministry of Construction and Transport. Furthermore, under the Act,
any public official can inspect any of the processing facilities with only 7 days prior
notice to ensure that standards are being maintained.
29/09/09