350 Million Tons Annually, Mostly Underground
The volume of waste plastic generated worldwide is massive.
According to the OECD's 'Global Plastics Outlook' report, global plastic waste generation in 2019 was estimated at approximately 353 million tons, and without policy changes, it is projected to surge to the 1 billion-ton level by 2060. Major domestic media outlets re-cite figures showing an increase from about 370 million tons in 2022 to approximately 1.01 billion tons by 2060.
The issue lies not in the volume generated, but in how it is processed. According to the OECD 'Global Plastics Outlook,' the global plastic waste recycling rate stood at only about 9% as of 2019. Subsequent studies also indicate that this ratio has remained below 10% without significant improvement through the mid-2020s. The remainder is mostly landfilled or incinerated.
These figures are not mere environmental warnings. They represent a business reality directly tied to a company's supply chain, export competitiveness, ESG evaluations, and regulatory risks. As of 2026, the issue of waste plastic recycling has entered an entirely new phase.
With international treaty negotiations continuing for years, legal obligations in major countries strengthening, and domestic conglomerates executing investments worth trillions of won, if ESG managers and executives miss this wave, the cost will arrive faster than expected.
Plastic is a material with two faces: convenience and environmental crisis. Because it is lightweight, durable, and inexpensive, it is practically indispensable in modern industrial structures. However, those very characteristics become a disaster for the environment.
It does not decompose, incineration emits toxic substances, and when it flows into the ocean, it breaks down into microplastics that contaminate the food chain. What the world is focusing on now is not eliminating plastic, but how to circulate it.
The Global Plastics Treaty: Agreement May Be Delayed, But the Direction Is Already Set
Attempts to govern the plastic problem through international norms have continued for years. Negotiations began in earnest when 175 countries agreed to draft a legally binding international treaty at the 5th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in 2022. Negotiations continued through INC-5 held in Busan, South Korea, in November 2024 and an additional negotiating session (INC-5.2) held in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 2025, but a final settlement has not yet been reached.
INC-5.2 held in Geneva, Switzerland, concluded without reaching an agreement on the treaty text despite intense negotiations until the final day. Discussions failed to make progress as countries held sharply conflicting stances on major issues such as whether to regulate plastic production, the scope and methods of regulating plastic products, and funding and support mechanisms.
The core conflict structure of the negotiations is simple. Oil-producing countries reliant on the petrochemical industry maintain that the focus should be on recycling and waste management, while the EU and countries suffering environmental damage argue that the production of primary plastic polymers itself must be reduced. Each country's differing stance on the contents of the treaty was distinct, and strong opposition from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) delegation against a compromise proposal offered by the chair under pressure to meet the negotiation deadline led the meeting to close without results, followed two months later by the resignation of the chair.
However, the delay in concluding the treaty does not mean a retreat in the direction of regulation. This is because various countries are already independently implementing strong regulations.
The UK has been imposing taxes since 2022 if plastic packaging does not contain at least 30% recycled content; France aims to reduce single-use plastic packaging usage by 20% by 2025 and stands by its position to completely phase out single-use plastics by 2040. Germany plans to introduce a national plastic tax starting in 2026, introducing annual levies on single-use food packaging plastics.
The EU's standards are even more specific and immediate. The EU mandated average recycled plastic content of at least 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 for single-use PET beverage bottles. It also aims to achieve a 90% collection rate for plastic beverage bottles by 2029, implementing a deposit-return scheme to this end. While there are no federal-level unified regulations in the United States, state-level regulations are spreading rapidly, with certain states such as California (AB 793) introducing mandates for using recycled content in plastic beverage bottles reaching 15% in 2022, 25% in 2025, and 50% in 2030.
These regulations share one common thread. They apply directly to finished-goods exporting companies that use plastic packaging. Failure to meet recycled content requirements can block access to the European and US markets altogether. This is why there is no luxury of time to wait for the completion of an international treaty.
South Korea: The Inaugural Year of the World’s First Recycling Cluster
In South Korea, 2026 is likely to be recorded as the practical inaugural year of the waste plastic industry. This is because the 'Ulsan ARC (Advanced Recycling Cluster),' constructed by SK geo centric with a total investment of KRW 1.8 trillion, begins commercial production this year.
SK geo centric established Ulsan ARC, a plastic recycling cluster, on a 215,000-square-meter site within the SK Innovation Ulsan Complex (CLX) in Nam-gu, Ulsan. Starting in 2026 when commercial production gets into full swing, 320,000 tons of waste plastic will be recycled annually. This corresponds to approximately 9 to 10% of the 3.5 million tons of waste plastic incinerated or landfilled annually in South Korea. Based on its own announcements, SK geo centric introduces Ulsan ARC as the 'world's first plastic recycling cluster.'
Ulsan ARC integrates three major chemical recycling technologies: depolymerization, high-purity polypropylene (PP) extraction, and pyrolysis. While conventional physical recycling had limitations depending on plastic types and contamination levels, chemical recycling is a method that breaks materials down at the molecular level to return them to raw materials. It can process wastes that were previously impossible to recycle, such as contaminated materials, colored PET bottles, and composite plastics. Physical recycling can only shred and recycle limited waste such as transparent PET bottles, making repeated recycling difficult, whereas chemical recycling allows most waste plastics to be reused regardless of the plastic's contamination level or color.
Prior to the groundbreaking ceremony, pre-orders amounting to 30% of annual production volume were received from global clients such as L'Oreal, and the company estimates that when Ulsan ARC is fully operational, it will generate an export increase effect of about USD 700 million annually.
Moves by other domestic conglomerates are also swift. LG Chem is investing KRW 310 billion to build a waste plastic pyrolysis oil plant with a capacity of 20,000 tons in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province.
Lotte Chemical plans to inject cumulative investments totaling KRW 1 trillion by 2030, entirely converting its Ulsan plant—the nation's largest PET production base—into a recycled PET line, thereby expanding sales of recycled plastic products to KRW 2 trillion.
SK chemicals has established a plastic recycling composite facility (RIC) utilizing depolymerization technology at its Ulsan plant, scheduled to operate at an annual capacity of 50 tons in 2026, while Samsung Electronics is strengthening eco-friendly policies applying recycled plastics and biodegradable materials to product packaging.
Hyundai Motor is introducing a circular economy model that applies eco-friendly materials recycled from marine waste plastic to automotive parts.
Three Major Chemical Recycling Technologies and Remaining Tasks
The technology group receiving the most attention in this cycle is 'chemical recycling.'
Transcending the limitations of physical recycling, it returns waste plastics to a molecular unit and is largely divided into three branches.
First is pyrolysis. This method heats waste plastics at 300 to 800 degrees Celsius in an oxygen-free environment to extract pyrolysis oil, which is then re-injected as a petrochemical raw material. It is highly versatile because it can process composite waste materials such as vinyl or ramen wrappers.
Second is depolymerization. This is a method that chemically breaks down specific plastics like PET to return them to a monomer (basic raw material) state, with its strength lying in the ability to infinitely and repeatedly produce materials of the exact same quality as the original feedstock.
Third is