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From October 2023 through to March 2024, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea conducted its first phase of a pilot project with the aim of establishing a certification system for recycled materials. The pilot project covers five product groups, including electronic products, such as refrigerators, televisions, soundbars, and shoe care, as well as electric vehicle batteries (including raw materials thereof) marketed by six companies. Based on the outcomes of the first phase of the project, the second phase of the pilot project will be implemented from June 2024. The second phase aims to confirm and improve the suitability of the certification system, targeting various product groups including textiles (clothing and materials), batteries (supply chain), and electronic products.
A recycled material certification system is a system that traces all the processes of a supply chain for a certain product starting with raw materials to parts and finished products to verify the use of recycled materials and their content. Korean business operators are now required to earn overseas certification on use of recycled materials when exporting their products, as it is mandatory to use recycled materials in the EU and some major countries including U.S, which imposes a heavy cost burden on them. Thus, Korea is in urgent need of its own certification system that is compatible with other countries’ certification.
Therefore, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea collected opinions and input from business operators through the first phase of the project and has developed a proposal for the certification system. Based on such input, the second phase, starting from June 2024, will cover a wide range of product groups such as textiles (clothing and materials), batteries (supply chain), and electronic products to confirm and improve the suitability of the certification system.
Backgrounds for promoting the recycled material certification system
With the increasing demand for recycled raw materials, more and more overseas buyers tend to require international certification for use of recycled materials and their content, which imposes a large amount of cost. Thus, to ensure the international competitiveness of exporters while reducing their dependence on foreign certifications, a legal basis for promoting the recycled material certification system (As stated in Article 21, Item 5 “Establishing a Foundation for Improving the Quality of Renewable Resources” of Enforcement Rules of the Act on Promotion of Transition to an Environmentally Friendly Industrial Structure) was established and it is getting reflected in policies, such as Circular Economy Revitalization Plan through Support of Regulatory Improvements (September 2022) and the Industrial New Growth Strategy through Revitalization of Circular Economy (June 2023).
Outline of the recycled material certification system
It is a system that verifies and certifies presence of recycled materials in products with their content using document reviews and on-site examinations covering the entire supply chain of the concerned product. A third party will verify and endorse information submitted to demonstrate the use of recycled materials, including how they collected raw materials, how they produced recycled materials, and how they fabricated the final products.