Waste landfill yearly volume South Korea 2015-2022

In 2022, approximately 9.4 million tons of waste were landfilled in South Korea. Overall, the amount of landfilled waste has decreased over the years, and according to the source, the share of total waste processed into landfills, as opposed to being recycled or incinerated, has also decreased. 

Landfills in South Korea

The amount of municipal waste landfilled daily in South Korea has reduced by around 4,000 tons from 2008 to 2022. Further, the number of landfill sites for waste disposal has also steadily declined. The reduction in the amount of landfilled waste may be due to the increase in the amount of recycled waste over the years.

Illegal dumping and littering

However, waste management and reducing pollution continue to be an area of concern. South Korea struggles to wrestle with the issue of illegal dumping and processing illegally disposed waste. Indeed, almost half of all respondents in a survey conducted in 2021 answered that the reason they either littered or illegally incinerated plastic waste was because of weak enforcement and punishment.