Manufacturers of bottled water and beverages must use a certain percentage of recycled materials in bottle production. Shown are drinks on Feb. 26 displayed in the cooler section of a convenience store in Seoul. (Kim Seon Ah)

By Kim Seon Ah

Manufacturers of bottled water and beverages must use a certain percentage of recycled materials in bottle production.

The Ministry of Environment on Feb. 20 said its 40-day legislative notice that took effect the next day revised lower-level regulations of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources. The gist of the changes is to shift the industries and targets subject to the requirement to boost the use of recycled plastic materials.

The bill requires raw material producers who make over 10,000 tons of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin per year to 3% of recycled resources in material production. Critics had said that even if PET is made from recycled materials, the policy will see little effect if ignored by makers of bottled water and beverages.

The ministry's lower-level regulation thus expands the scope of the requirement for using recycled PET from PET producers to final product manufacturers of bottled water and other non-alcoholic drinks that annually produce at least 5,000 tons of such drinks.

The amendment will result in about 10 bottled water and beverage manufacturers using an estimated 20,000 tons of recycled materials per year, the ministry said.

More information on this revision is on the website of the Public Participation Legislation Center (opinion.lawmaking.go.kr).

sofiakim218@korea.kr