'Piles of trash everywhere': Korea ranks 2nd in plastic waste per capita, yet consumers say they have no choice

'Trash piled up everywhere you look'

On a weekday afternoon near Hongik University Station in Seoul, more than half the people on the street appeared to be foreign tourists. Around one alley corner, a heap of garbage drew instinctive frowns from passersby.

The waste had been discarded without proper sorting. The majority of it was plastic — classified as the most harmful category of waste. It is a snapshot of South Korea's reality as the world's second-largest per-capita plastic user.

Littering in public is a matter of civic awareness. But the sheer volume of plastic waste overflowing on Korean streets cannot simply be attributed to a lack of public consciousness.

Plastic has become so pervasive that daily life is virtually impossible without it.

In practice, more than 80 percent of South Koreans said they recognize plastic pollution as a serious problem. Yet a majority of them also said they find it particularly difficult to avoid using plastic.

This has prompted calls to go beyond simply urging consumers to cut back, with advocates arguing that policy should be designed to create a consumption environment where people do not need to use plastic in the first place.

According to the OECD's 2022 report "Global Plastics Policy Scenarios to 2060," South Korea's per-capita plastic waste generation stood at 90.5 kilograms, the second highest in the world after Australia. Given that the OECD average is around 42 kilograms, South Koreans use more than twice the average amount of plastic.

Despite that high usage, however, awareness of the environmental damage caused by plastic was found to be relatively strong.

A plastic pollution awareness survey of 1,000 adults nationwide, conducted by Plastic Roots Solidarity — a coalition of 17 domestic and international civic groups — found that 83.6 percent of respondents view plastic pollution as a serious problem.

The willingness to act was also notable. About 81.3 percent said they intend to reduce plastic use in their daily lives. Some 81.7 percent said they feel anxious about the detection of microplastics in the human body — an issue gaining growing attention alongside concerns about carbon emissions and marine debris — indicating a high level of public concern.

Taken together, South Korea shows overwhelmingly high plastic consumption even among people who hold negative views of plastic. Where does this disconnect come from? Plastic Roots Solidarity points to a structural market problem that leaves people with little choice but to use plastic.

The survey asked respondents who acknowledged the seriousness of plastic pollution why they continue to use it anyway. About 68.7 percent said it was because most products they want to buy are sold only in single-use plastic packaging. Another 39 percent said avoiding plastic makes the purchasing or consumption process more complicated.

In practice, a plastic-free consumer lifestyle is nearly impossible. At a supermarket, for instance, it is hard to imagine buying goods without plastic containers or bags. In summer, avoiding a plastic cup when ordering a takeout drink means carrying a reusable tumbler at all times.

If anything, consuming products that harm the environment is simply more convenient. In some cases, avoiding plastic actually requires spending more time and money.

Some 79.1 percent of respondents agreed that single-use plastic consumption would decrease if reusable container and refill systems were made available. In addition, 56.1 percent said they would reduce their use if fees were charged for plastic products or single-use delivery containers.

These findings suggest that the responsibility for reducing plastic use can no longer rest with consumers alone. Before simply calling on consumers to "use less plastic," the conditions that actually make it possible to do so must be put in place. Consumers, the survey suggests, are already ready to go plastic-free.

Respondents said the government and businesses should take the lead on eliminating plastic. When asked who could drive the change, 64.4 percent named the government. Businesses came second at 58.8 percent. Only 48.5 percent said individual consumers should be the ones to lead the change.

The most-needed policy was identified as building reusable container and refill systems, cited by 44.4 percent of respondents. Policies requiring behavioral changes from consumers — such as discounts for tumbler use or deposit schemes — were chosen by about 41 percent.

Awareness of reusable container and refill systems stood at 90.9 percent, while 55.0 percent said they had actually used such systems. Most of those experiences stemmed from mandatory bans on single-use items inside stores. Usage rates were much lower in settings without mandatory rules — baseball stadiums (21 percent), funeral halls (22 percent) and food delivery (28 percent) — underscoring how sharply actual use diverges depending on whether compliance is required.

Particularly notable was that "packaging" and "consumer goods" ranked first and second among the industries where plastic reduction is most urgently needed to achieve a plastic-free society. Industries where plastic use was considered essential included medical, electrical and electronics, and construction. The results reflect broad consensus that reducing plastic in the everyday products people consume should be the top priority.

"This survey confirmed that citizens have already made up their minds to break up with single-use plastic," Plastic Roots Solidarity said. "Urgent policy decisions by the government and businesses are needed to reform the plastic-centered production and retail systems that stand in the way of individual will and action."

Meanwhile, Plastic Roots Solidarity announced the survey results on June 22 in front of Cheong Wa Dae Sarangchae, staging a "plastic graduation ceremony" in which participants tossed graduation caps into the air.

Plastic Roots Solidarity — whose Korean name roughly translates as "solidarity to uproot the roots of plastic" — is a coalition of 17 civic groups, including Greenpeace, the Youth Climate Group GEYK, Solutions for Our Climate, the Labor Environment Health Institute, the Green Consumer Network in Korea, Green Korea United, the East Asian Seas Community Ocean, the Mapo Resource Circulation Network, the Citizens' Action for a Society Free of Carcinogens, the Seoul Environment Federation, Almang Store, the Korea Women's Environmental Network, the Resource Circulation Society Solidarity, the Resource Circulation Citizens Center and the Korea Federation for Environmental Movement.

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