South Korea has earned international recognition for its recycling initiatives on Friday, November 22.
As per Reuters, experts believe that as the country prepares to host talks for a global plastic waste agreement, its current methods show some certain limits.
As the INC-5 talks are scheduled to begin in Busan next week, the debate is expected to revolve around whether a UN treaty should focus on limiting plastic production from the very beginning.
Opponents of this approach, such as major plastic and petrochemical producers like Saudi Arabia and China, have argued in past discussions that countries should concentrate on less controversial topics, such as plastic waste management.
As per the outlet, South Korea claims to recycle 73% of its plastic waste, while the United States recycles only about 5%-6%.
As a result, South Korea may appear to be a potential model for waste management practices.
The bi-monthly MIT Technology Review magazine has rated South Korea as "one of the world’s best recycling economies.”
Not only that, it was the only Asian country to make the top 10 on the Green Future Index in 2022.
But environmental activists and members of the waste management industry say the recycling numbers don't tell the complete picture.
