Starting next year, plastic toys will also need to be collected and recycled by manufacturers, importers, and sellers along with other types of plastics. The Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment announced on the 16th that the amendment to the ‘Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources,’ which includes adding plastic toys to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, was approved at a cabinet meeting and will take effect from January 1st next year.
The Extended Producer Responsibility system requires producers to pay contributions to a cooperative to fulfill their recycling obligations, and the cooperative provides recycling support funds based on the performance of recycling companies. This amendment aims to promote resource circulation by incorporating plastic toys, which were previously classified as difficult-to-recycle items and subject to waste disposal fees, into the full recycling system.
Since 2019, the government has been operating a pilot collection, sorting, and recycling system by setting recycling rate targets through voluntary agreements with producer groups. The stable recycling foundation confirmed by consistently exceeding annual targets led to the inclusion of toys in the Extended Producer Responsibility system. Once the amendment is implemented, 18 types of toys, including activity, arts and crafts, puzzles, functional, blocks, and assembly toys, will be newly included in the EPR system.
The recycling cost standard for toys is set at 343 won per kilogram, reflecting the actual costs of collection, transportation, sorting, and recycling. The method of separating and disposing of toys in daily life will also be clarified with this amendment, allowing general plastic toys to be separated and disposed of in the same way as existing plastics without additional procedures. However, toys that use batteries or are classified as electrical or electronic products must be disposed of through dedicated small appliance collection bins or electronic product collection systems operated by local governments.