Since the import ban of plastic waste in China has been enforced, plastic wastes were not properly collected and recycled in Korea. Hence, the management strategies for plastic waste in Korea should be improved by examining the regulations and policy in developed countries such as United States, Japan, EU and United Kingdom. The management strategy for the recycling cycle should be implemented to expand the labeling system of separation and discharge, reduce the consumption of plastic products, automate the separation and sorting method in recycling facilities, and improve the economical efficiency of the recycling cycle. The concept of residual waste (secondary waste) in the material flow analysis should be implemented to identify the shortage point in the plastic waste stream. Finally, the cooperation with international communities is required for a transboundary movement of plastic waste, which includes participation at the working group of international standards to recycle plastic waste.

This paper presents the actual recycling rates and recycling processes of waste plastic recycling facilities using material flow analysis. Determination of actual recycling rates through the processes of waste plastics is a very important subject not only from the point of plastic recycling efficiency energy conversion but also from the perspective of the recycling technology level. In this study, the recycling processes and recycling rates of waste plastic recycling facilities were evaluated by the MFA analysis based on 14 site visits and 25 questionnaires. The MFA methodology based on mass balance approach applied to identify the inputs and outputs of recyclable plastic materials in the recycling processes at recycling facilities. It is necessary to determine the composition and flows of the input materials to be recycled in a recycling facility. A complete understanding of the waste flows in the processes along with the site visit and data surveys for the recycling facilities was required to develop a material flow for the processes and determine the actual recycling rate. The results show that the average actual recycling rates for the recycling facilities by the site visit and the questionnaire was found to be approximately 87.5 ± 7.1% and 84.3 ± 14.5%, respectively. The recycling rates depended upon several factors including the quality of incoming waste plastics, the type and operating conditions of recycling processes, and the type of final products. According to the national statistics, the recycling rate of waste plastics was about 53.7%, while the actual recycling rate at national level was estimated to be approximately 45.1% by considering the recycling performance evaluated as well as the type of recycling process applied. The results of MFA for the recycling processes served as a tool to evaluate the performance of recycling efficiency with regard to the composition of the products during recycling. They may also support the development of the strategy of improvement of recycling processes to maximize resource recovery out of the waste plastic materials.