Act on Promotion of Resource Circulation Related to Plastics (Act No. 60 of 2021).

This Act aims to promote plastic resource circulation by all entities throughout the life cycle, from product design to waste disposal of plastic products.
The Act consists of the following Chapters: Chapter 1 General provisions; Chapter 2 Basic policy; Chapter 3 Design guidelines for products using plastics; Chapter 4 Rationalization of the use of products using specified plastics; Chapter 5 Municipal separate collection and recycling; Chapter 6 Voluntary collection and recycling by manufacturers, etc.; Chapter 7 Emission control and recycling by emission businesses; Chapter 8 Miscellaneous provisions; Chapter 9 Penalties; Supplementary provisions.
The competent minister shall comprehensively and systematically promote the control of the discharge of plastic-using product waste and plastic by-products, as well as their collection and recycling and a basic policy for promotion shall be established (Art.3). The Act further makes provisionss for: At the design and manufacturing stage, formulating design guidelines for plastic products (e.g., reduction of plastic usage, reuse of parts, use of recycled plastic) and establishing scheme in which designs that comply with those guidelines are certified by the government; At the sales and supply stage, establishing criteria regarding measures to be taken by suppliers of specified plastic products, and reducing plastic waste by rationally using of specified plastic products; At the discharge stage, promoting efforts such as sorted collection and recycling by municipalities, voluntary collection and recycling by manufacturers, and waste reduction and recycling by waste generators.