• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Resources Recycling Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.23-33
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• 2005

The development of material separation technique for waste plastic recycling are the necessary situation according to restrict by law the reclamation and incineration of waste plastic after 2004 year, pith enforcement of EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) system. As the this study is the research on the development of electrostatic separation techniques for recycling of life circles waste plastic, it can improve separation efficiency according to development of charging material and charger. Therefore, we developed the charger and electrostatic separator to increase charging efficiency and material separation per object plastics, using these equipments, we removed PVC up to 99% from two kinds of mixed plastics. And in case of restricting PVC content such as PET, we developed the separation technique that can remove PVC up to 99.99% from PET with PET recovery about 80%. Also, as we separated over 98% for three kinds of mixed plastics, and then established material separation technique to increase recycling of plastic.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2021.10a
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• pp.382-384
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• 2021

In this study, we implement a system that automatically classifies types of plastics using YOLO (You Only Look Once), a real-time object recognition algorithm. The system consists of Nvidia jetson nano, a small computer for deep learning and computer vision, with model trained to recognize plastic separation emission marks using YOLO. Using a webcam, recycling marks of plastic waste were recognized as PET, HDPE, and PP, and motors were adjusted to be classified according to the type. By implementing this automatic classifier, it is convenient in that it can reduce the labor of separating and discharging plastic separation marks by humans and increase the efficiency of recycling through accurate recycling.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.74-84
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• 2024

Background: Despite many environmental problems, plastic waste emissions have been a significant surge during last few decades in the Republic of Korea. Furthermore, the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has lead to an increased use and disposal of plastic waste worldwide. This paper tried to present summarized data related to the production and disposal of plastics especially before and after the COVID-19 pandemic with environmental impacts of plastics. Also, review of plastic waste reduction policies and feasible policies to promote an act for a safe, sustainable environment are presented. Results: Plastics cause many environmental problems due to their non-degrading properties and have a huge direct and indirect impact on Ecosystems and Public Health. Microplastics need a lot of attention because their environmental effects are not yet fully identified. Despite plastic's significant impact on climate change, the impact is not yet widely known to the public. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of plastic has surged and recycling has decreased due to the increase in delivery food and online shopping. Korea is introducing very active plastic and waste management policies, but it is necessary to implement more active policies by referring to the cases of other countries. Conclusions: In this article, we have scrutinized the evolution of plastic waste generation in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and delved into policy frameworks adopted by other nations, which South Korea can draw valuable lessons from. The formidable challenges posed by plastic waste, the remarkable shifts witnessed during the COVID-19 era, and the multifaceted response strategies elucidated in this paper all play a pivotal role in steering South Korea toward a sustainable future.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.79-89
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• 2023

One of the foremost environmental challenges, alongside the contemporary focus on achieving carbon neutrality, pertains to the pervasive issue of plastic waste. Thermochemical recycling technology, operating under high-temperature conditions to covert organic matter and recycle it into raw materials and energy, represents a transformative approach surpassing the conventional bounds of material recycling predominantly applied in plastic waste management. The thermochemical recycling paradigm is emerging as a pivotal technology within the circular economy, capable of transforming waste plastics into raw materials for producing original plastics. Its significance extends beyond national borders, garnering global attention due to its versatility as a chemical or energy recycling method, contingent upon the subsequent processes and final products. This study aims to scrutinize three quintessential thermochemical recycling technologies: combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis. Furthermore, the study discusses the recent major technology trends of these technologies.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.71-77
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• 2014

It is believed to have the international competitiveness of the domestic petrochemical in conjunction with the production of high value-added new product and variety of application by supercritical fluid process and the reaction of infusible/insoluble plastic wastes recycling. In this article, the patents and papers for the recycling of organic residues from the plastic wastes using supercritical fluids were collected and analyzed. The open patents of USA (US), European Union (EP), Japan (JP), and Korea (KR) and SCI journals from 1993 to 2012 were investigated. The patents and journals were collected using key-words and filtered by the definition of the technology. The patents and journals were analyzed by the years, countries, companies, and technologies and the technical trends were discussed in this paper.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.7-12
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• 2003

In scrapped material field, about ten millions ton of waste plastic materials are produced in korea. However recycling rate of waste plastic materials have above 25%. Therefore, it is urgently needed that they are used as recycled materials in order to prevent environment pollution and grain economic profits. In this paper, physical and mechanical properties of light weight concrete using waste plastic materials for aggregates are described in order to develop a light weight concrete with the aggregate made from waste plastic goods, it was carried out many experiments on mix proportion and strength. According to the experimental results, high-strength mortar was necessary to make light weight concrete using aggregate of waste plastic materials. Especially, considering the side of recycling of plastic wastes, it is recommended that recycled aggregates made from waste plastic materials is applied to light weight concrete.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.3-8
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• 2019

Recently, plastic waste in Korea has been recognized as a critical issue due to an increase in massive production of plastics, difficulty in disposal of waste plastics, and public recognition of toxicity in micro-plastics, etc. To resolve those problems, the regulation to reduce plastics consumption may be primarily considered but, in this case, clarification should be made on the rationales and the action plans in the regulation for individual waste plastic items. Another problem is the small capital sizes of domestic recycling companies, which leads to poor R&D capacity, low recycling yields and thus lowering values of recycling items. This adversely affects consumers' perception. The R&D toward recycling technical progress should take into account the environmental friendliness and recyclability from the early product design stages. Certainly, this should be supported in governmental policy and public action plans. In addition, by referring to advanced policies of i.e. European Union, the recycling industry should be recognized as an opportunity toward new investment & employment. If necessary, the regulation of plastic consumption through a formal evaluation process such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) will also be helpful. The values of recycled plastics should be improved through the identification and elimination of harmful chemical substances potentially contained in the products.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.176-180
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• 2019

Post-traumatic soft tissue defects sometimes require sequential flap coverage to achieve complete healing. In the era of propeller flaps, which were developed to reduce donor site morbidity, Feng et al. introduced the concept of the free-style puzzle flap, in which a previously harvested flap becomes its own donor site by recycling the perforator. However, when a perforator cannot be found with a Doppler device, we suggest performing a new type of flap, the flip-flap puzzle flap, which combines two concepts: the free-style puzzle flap and the flip-flap flap described by Voche et al. in the 1990s. We present the cases of three patients who achieved complete healing through this procedure.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.436-443
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• 2020

In this paper, we tried to examine the composition ratio of plastic waste from households according to the generated city and the qualities according to the production time of material recycling products. As a result, the composition ratio of recyclable plastic waste among the total plastic waste according to the generated cities is 64.5~90.4%, showing a big difference by city. In addition, the quality evaluation of material recycling products by production time for four months showed that the average tensile strength was 12.33MPa, the average elongation rate was 5.94%, the average density was 1.35g/㎤ and the average ash content was 3.66%.

• Korean Management Science Review
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2014

As the scarcity of natural resources has become apparent, the recycling industry has emerged as a promising one for its growth potential. Yet, the recycling industry still remains undeveloped and inefficient for various reasons. In this study, we focus on firms' recycling processes to understand the current status of recycling firms' value creation activities. With respect to the adopted recycling processes, we empirically investigate the differences in firm characteristics and firm performance. We use the data from Keco (Korea Environment Cooperation) which annually conducts a survey of recycling firms in Korea. We exclusively consider the whole group of plastic recycling industry in order to control for a possible bias in firm performance, stemming from the heterogeneity in processing and recycling of materials other than plastics. We review the descriptive statistics from the sample firms and conduct a series of hierarchical regression analyses. The results show that most of the firms in this industry adopt physical transformation processes with a low-level technology. These firms with physical transformation processes are smaller in size and produce entry level items which do not secure higher margins. The results indicate that the recycling industry largely comprises low value added firms which lack economies of scale and resources for R&D. For the stable growth of the industry, recycling firms must create sustainable values through implementation of technology-driven processes and improvement in product quality. In addition, the government should help build a reliable reverse logistic network, lower the entry barriers, and provide necessary funding for the SMEs in the recycling industry.