South Korea’s EPR to increase threshold for percentage of recycled raw materials eligible for reduction of obligatory recycling amount from 10% to 15%

On November 6, 2024, South Korea’s Ministry of Environment (MOE) issued an administrative preliminary notice on draft amendment to the Notice on the Procedure for Reducing the Amount of Recycling Obligation for Producers Who Use Recycled Plastic Raw Materials (hereinafter “the Notice”), seeking public comments through to November 26, 2024. Under the EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) system, the Korean government imposes a certain quota of recycling obligation on producers of target products and/or products that use certain packaging materials, and if such a producer fails to fulfill its obligations, the producer is subject to a fine that is greater than the cost of implementation of proper recycling.