Abstract
Ten years have passed since the start up of recycling scheme for plastic containers and packaging waste other than PET bottles, by the full enforcement of the Act on the Promotion of Sorted Collection and Recycling of Containers and Packaging. This paper outlines the recent discussions on pending issues that have arisen since the Act was revised in 2006, including a comparative assessment of recycling technologies, recycling of waste plastic products, and traceability of recycled products. Based on a critique of the 3Rs for plastic waste, the author proposes that discrimination, sorted collection and segregation of plastics need to be consistent with recycling technologies. It is suggested that sorting according to the properties of the various waste plastics would be better than sorting according to the Act′s current criteria. Four alternative scenarios for sorted collection and recycling technologies for household plastic waste are proposed in the paper, listing both their advantages and disadvantages.
