Korea’s average per capita consumption of plastics is 98.2 kg.
We have the highest plastic consumption rate in the world in an absolute sense (National Statistical Office, 2016).
216
The annual production amount of plastic bags in Korea increased by 72.8% from 12.5 billion bags (Seoul City, 2003) to 21.6 billion bags (Seoul City, 2015).
460
A person in Korea uses 460 single-use plastic bags per year (Seoul City, 2015).
A person in Finland uses 4 plastic bags per year, so Korea uses 115 times more than Finland.
Plastics (bags) production & consumption in Korea
98.2
Korea’s average per capita consumption of plastics is 98.2 kg. We have the highest plastic consumption rate in the world in an absolute sense (National Statistical Office, 2016).
216
The annual production amount of plastic bags in Korea increased by 72.8% from 12.5 billion bags (Seoul City, 2003) to 21.6 billion bags (Seoul City, 2015).
460
A person in Korea uses 460 single-use plastic bags per year (Seoul City, 2015).
A person in Finland uses 4 plastic bags per year, so Korea uses 115 times more than Finland.
Environmental pollution caused by plastics
2,3
Incheon is the world’s second-highest microplastics-contaminated area, and the lower Nakdonggang River is the third (Nature Geoscience, 2018)
3
Koreans consume the same amount of microplastics
as one credit card every week and one toothbrush
every month. Korea ranks third in the world for
microplastics consumption.
(Study on human consumption of plastics, 2019)
13
Only about 13% of plastics are recycled
(Recycling rates of household waste, Greenpeace Plastics Korea, 2019)
5,5,500
Disposable plastics take 5 seconds to manufacture, 5 minutes to use, and 500 years to decompose.
say no use single-use plastic
say no use single-use plastic
International trends on plastics reduction
KOREA
100% conversion of petroleum-based plastics to bioplastics by 2050
EU
A tax of 0.8 euros (about KRW 1,080) per kg imposed on
non-reusable plastic waste in 2021
CHINA
‘Across-the-board regulations’ on single-use plastics in 2021
NIKE
Releases sneakers made of eco-friendly materials recently
COCACOLA
50% of all PET bottles to be made from eco-friendly raw materials by 2030
Environmental pollution caused by plastics
2,3
Incheon is the world’s second-highest microplastics-contaminated area, and the lower Nakdonggang River is the third (Nature Geoscience, 2018)
3
Koreans consume the same amount of microplastics as one credit card every week and one toothbrush every month. Korea ranks third in the world for microplastics consumption. (Study on human consumption of plastics, 2019)
13
Only about 13% of plastics are recycled
(Recycling rates of household waste, Greenpeace Plastics Korea, 2019)
5,5,500
Disposable plastics take 5 seconds to manufacture, 5 minutes to use, and 500 years to decompose.
say no use single-use plastic
International trends on plastics reduction
KOREA
100% conversion of petroleum-based plastics to bioplastics by 2050
EU
A tax of 0.8 euros (about KRW 1,080) per kg imposed on
non-reusable plastic waste in 2021
CHINA
‘Across-the-board regulations’ on single-use plastics in 2021
NIKE
Releases sneakers made of eco-friendly materials recently
COCACOLA
50% of all PET bottles to be made from eco-friendly raw materials by 2030
