Korea pushes to take top plastic recycling technologies global

Korea Environment Corporation, an agency under the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, signed MOUs with domestic plastic recycling companies Friday at its headquarters in Incheon's Seohaegu district under the 2026 Plastic Circular Economy Overseas Expansion Support Project.

The project aims to help small and midsize domestic companies bring their plastic recycling technologies to overseas markets and establish a foundation for local commercialization abroad.

The corporation plans to strengthen the international competitiveness of South Korea's circular economy industry through feasibility studies and overseas pilot demonstrations, supporting export growth and broader market access.

This year, five projects were selected through a public competition and expert evaluation — four feasibility studies and one overseas pilot demonstration — with 12 companies participating.

The selected companies will use government funding to assess the feasibility of applying their waste sorting and recycling technologies in five countries, including Kenya, Panama and Uzbekistan.

They will also build pilot facilities on the ground and conduct demonstrations to verify the technical and commercial viability of their technologies.

"The corporation will spare no effort in supporting our companies with outstanding plastic recycling technologies so they can successfully enter overseas markets," said Moon Gap-saeng, the corporation's director of resource circulation.