This study examined how OECD countries treat municipal solid waste (MSW) and how their methods of recovering energy after waste incineration changed as leaders prepared to resource circulation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The results showed that Korea, with its per capita MSW of 350 kg and recycling rate of 59%, was the most efficient among the 14 countries studied in regards to waste management. In Korea, the rate of waste reclamation dropped from 71% in 1995 to 15.7% in 2014. However, the rate of waste incineration is expected to increase, allowing the rate of waste reclamation to decrease to less than 1%. In addition, the study showed that the average rate of waste incineration was 49.8% in the OECD-EU countries and Japan, where reclamation rates are relatively low, and this average rate was higher than Korea’s rate of 25.3%. Therefore, Korea needs to identify ways to increase the rate of waste incineration and recover more energy from existing and future incineration plants. Such measures, along with the 3Rs of municipal solid waste and energy recovery, would help Korea become a society of both low carbon and resource circulation.

• 박상우(저탄소자원순환연구소) | Sang-Woo Park (Low-Carbon & Resource Cycle Research Institute) Corresponding author