South Korea to Mandate Use of Recycled Content in Transparent PET Bottles: Implementation to Begin Next Year, Full Rollout by 2030

Appearance of the South Korean Ministry of Environment building

The South Korean government passed a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Promotion of Resource Conservation and Recycling on September 16. Starting January 1, 2026, it will implement mandatory blending of recycled content in transparent (colorless) PET bottles for bottled water and non-alcoholic beverage companies. The first group to be regulated will be companies with an annual PET usage exceeding 5,000 tons, with a minimum recycled content ratio of 10%. By 2030, the threshold will be expanded to companies using over 1,000 tons per year, and the ratio will be increased to 30%.

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Policy Key Points and Implementation Path

Mandatory ratio: 10% starting in 2026, proposed to increase to 30% by 2030.

Scope of application: The first phase applies to bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages, and is limited to colorless transparent PET bottles.

Object threshold: Initially include enterprises with >5,000 tons/year; expand to >1,000 tons/year enterprises before 2030.

Certification and Safety: The Ministry of Environment will certify the recycling process (collection/sorting/regeneration); the Ministry of Food and Drug will implement safety certification for recycled materials used in food containers, with only certified rPET allowed for the production of colorless PET bottles.

Time nodes (for compliance planning): Select and notify the obligated enterprises by September 30, 2025; submit the implementation plan by January 31, 2026; submit the implementation report by February 28 of the following year; K-eco will review the usage records by April 30 of the following year.

The new observation interpretation: The aforementioned "process certification + food contact safety certification" dual-track system means that enterprises not only need to prove the blending ratio, but also need to demonstrate that the recycling source and purification decontamination capability meet food contact safety requirements.

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Supply and Cost: The Realistic Test of rPET "Bottle-to-Bottle" Material

The Korean industry estimates that if the 10% mandatory blending is implemented, approximately 17,500 tons of bottle-grade rPET will be needed annually; if it increases to 30% by 2030, the demand may rise to 52,500 tons per year. Several organizations and associations are concerned about the potential shortage of high-quality transparent rPET, and currently, Korea does not recognize imported waste plastics for fulfilling mandatory obligations, which will further tighten raw material supply and increase costs. The industry thus calls for diversification of supply and development of depolymerization and other chemical recycling methods under the premise of ensuring safety to expand available materials (including colored bottles, composite films, contaminated plastics, etc.).

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Aligning with international policies

The EU: The Single-Use Plastics Directive requires PET beverage bottles to contain ≥25% recycled plastic from 2025, and to increase all plastic beverage bottles to ≥30% by 2030. In comparison, South Korea's transition from 10% to 30% is close to the EU's 2030 target, but the transition period is more gradual.

In the United States, there is no unified federal mandate for recycled content requirements. However, the FDA's "Letter of No Objection" (LNO) mechanism has long been used to assess the safety of recycled plastics in food contact applications. Several state laws (such as those in California) have phased requirements for the post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in packaging.

Japan: Mainly promotes "bottle-to-bottle" through industry self-regulation and high recycling rates, while gradually improving certification and green procurement guidelines.

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"Impurities" and Quality Control: Key Challenges in Bottle-Grade rPET

For "bottle-to-bottle" rPET, impurity control is the critical point. The main risks affecting product quality control and food contact safety include:

Cross-material contamination: Materials like PVC, nylon, multilayer barriers (EVOH), metallized labels, dark masterbatch, etc., may lead to yellowing, black spots, IV reduction, and increased AA (acetaldehyde), which can further affect flavor and mechanics.

Decontamination capability: The technical approach of the EU EFSA uses "challenge tests" to verify the decontamination efficiency of the recycling process, ensuring that potential contaminants do not pose a migration risk under the specified conditions of use; this approach is of reference value for Korean companies to establish internal verification systems and third-party evaluations.

Source design and diversion: Starting from 2021-2022, South Korea has been promoting the separate collection of transparent PET and restricting colored bottles/PVC to lay the foundation for high-quality rPET. However, the removal of labels and sorting by residents still affects the purity of recycling.

Food Contact Safety: The MFDS has established a framework for recycled resource certification and food contact standards and regulations. Companies using rPET must complete safety proof equivalent to virgin materials and obtain certification/recognition.

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Market-side dynamics and pioneering practices

Korean beverage and material companies have been continuously experimenting with label-free bottles, lightweight designs, and partial rPET formulations. There is a clear trend in the industry towards "reducing impurities from the design stage," which facilitates purification at the recycling end and enables high-grade reuse.

In conclusion, South Korea's phased, verifiable, and food safety parallel mandatory mechanisms will directly enhance the demand and standardization level of bottle-grade rPET. For the PET recycling industry, impurity control capabilities and compliance verification abilities will become core competencies. The alignment with the EU's target pace also means that South Korean companies need to "benchmark internationally and implement on-site" more quickly in terms of technological routes (super purification/depolymerization) and system construction (DfR+ certification).