Plastic recycling in South Korea was already in crisis. The pandemic is pushing it to the brink

By the time day breaks, Lee Yong-gi is at his fourth apartment complex, well into his daily rounds collecting the plastic detritus of urban life.

Lee Yong-gi, 62, a veteran operator of a recycling collection business, makes his rounds through apartment complexes in Seoul in the early morning hours. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased plastic waste and disrupted the international trade in recycled plastic, squeezing recyclers such as Lee, who has been losing money paying to get the unwanted plastic off his hands., recyclers such as Lee have been busier than ever. But larger forces are conspiring against him.

In the greater Seoul area, home to nearly half of South Korea’s population, that system depended heavily on small-scale, privately run collection businesses such as Lee’s — and their profitability. Lee said the heyday of his business was in the lead-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, when China was importing large amounts of recyclables from around the world to fill its seemingly insatiable need.

With social distancing measures announced by the government came waves of plastic waste. But Lee said much of it, including containers from meal deliveries, can’t be recycled because it’s covered with food or improperly disposed. Volumes increased by about a third compared with pre-pandemic levels in the apartment complexes he has contracts with, he said.It’s made him urgently consider thoughts that have been brewing over the decades.

The South Korean government has announced emergency measures to buy up excess plastic and stockpile it, to help keep the industry going. It also began hiring more than 10,000 “resource management helpers” around the country to be stationed at apartment complexes to improve the quality of recyclables being collected by removing labels and tape and cleaning off food residue. The program is part of an economic stimulus to create jobs amid the pandemic.

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