Waste Management Performance for 25 Years in South Korea

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the current status of waste generation and treatment in Korea from 1997 to 2020 and suggest future waste management measures. The ratios of three waste treatment methods–incineration, landfill, and recycling–were calculated as the total amount of waste generated, and a ternary diagram was used for data visualization. The ternary diagram method is appropriate for comparing waste management by region and identifying the flow of past changes. Waste generation and treatment flows are shown regionally and temporally. In addition, a comparison was conducted with EU and OECD data to compare South Korea's waste management performance. South Korea’s waste management methods have changed from being 63.85% landfills, 7.12% incineration, and 29.04% recycling in 1997 to being 11.77% landfills, 25.52% incineration, and 62.71% recycling in 2020, indicating that South Korea has been moving toward active and positive waste management for 25 years.

Keywords: waste treatment, Ternary diagram, Waste generation and management, South Korea, Regional waste management