The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) signed a business agreement on Tue, Apr. 11 with four domestic oil refineries and chemical companies (i.e. GS Caltex, HD Hyundai Oilbank, LG Chem, and SK Geo Centric) to promote a zero waste program that recycles discarded vinyl waste into pyrolysis oil.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicted that by 2060, the global generation of plastic waste would be triple of the amount in 2019, and Korea’s plastic production in 2021 increased by about 16% compared to the previous year.

Generally, plastic waste that ends up being sorted for recycling is turned into solid refuse fuel (SRF) because most of it is stained with foreign substances or mixed with various materials. SRF is used as an energy source for industrial purposes, such as cement factories, but most discarded vinyl waste that is not recycled is disposed of by landfill or incineration.

In light of the dire environmental situation, the city decided to conduct a pilot project by signing an agreement with four oil refineries and chemical companies to introduce pyrolysis technology that recycles plastic waste such as vinyl into petrochemical raw materials.

Under the agreement, the parties plan to operate pyrolysis production facilities by collecting vinyl waste from the city. It is expected that this agreement will activate the plastic waste recycling market and reduce costs by reducing the use of pay-as-your-throw bags.

Pyrolysis is one of the technologies available to produce pyrolysis oil as a raw material for plastic production, which is done by heating plastic and vinyl waste discarded in pay-as-you-throw bags contaminated with food and other contaminants at high temperatures of 300 to 800°C.

The city plans to cooperate with local districts to secure additional pay-as-you-throw plastic waste and supply to the four partner companies. As a result, the city expects to reduce the amount of incineration and landfill by recycling discarded plastic waste and to treat plastic waste more stably.

Seoul plans to create a cooperative model based on the results of the pilot project to benefit all stakeholders from partner companies and recycling companies to the general public.