Strengthening Container Opening Inspections and Mandatory Guarantee Insurance Enrollment for Waste Import and Export

Approval of the Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Transboundary Movement of Waste at the Cabinet Meeting

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The government has strengthened pre-clearance inspections of waste to prevent a second case of 'illegal export of municipal waste to the Philippines' and has made it mandatory to subscribe to guarantee insurance in preparation for cases of illegal waste export and import.

The Ministry of Environment announced that the partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the "Act on the Transboundary Movement and Disposal of Waste" containing these measures was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 23rd and is scheduled to take effect from April 1.

This is intended to prevent international environmental disputes like the case in 2018 when about 5,100 tons of municipal waste were illegally exported to the Philippines. At that time, the Ministry of Environment conducted a major enforcement action to repeatedly bring the exported waste back into the country and incinerated all of it by December last year.

The amended enforcement decree designates the Korea Environment Corporation as the Waste Export-Import Safety Management Center and strengthens container opening inspections before customs clearance from 1% of total customs clearance cases in 2020 to about 10% by 2024.

Additionally, those who export or import waste are required to subscribe to guarantee insurance with a guarantee period of six months or more or deposit a guarantee deposit to ensure proper disposal in case of illegal export or import.

Exporters are also required to input additional information such as the shipment date, transport vessel number, unloading date at the importing country, unloading port, and customs clearance date before final customs clearance in the importing country. Previously, information after bringing the waste into the bonded area domestically was not entered.

The amendment to the "Act on the Transboundary Movement of Waste," which strengthens the qualification requirements for waste exporters and importers, will also take effect from the 1st of next month. This amendment passed the National Assembly plenary session on March 6 last year and was promulgated on March 31 last year, with enforcement scheduled one year after promulgation. Accordingly, only waste handlers such as waste disposal and recycling operators, waste treatment reporters, and waste treatment facility installers and operators can import waste. Export of waste is also restricted to waste handlers and business site waste generators.

However, for waste with low environmental pollution concerns, such as scrap paper, the amendment to the "Act on the Transboundary Movement of Waste" currently under discussion in the National Assembly allows the Minister of Environment to separately announce qualification requirements beyond waste handlers. The Ministry of Environment plans to announce these qualification requirements as soon as the related laws are amended.

Hong Dong-gon, Director of the Resource Circulation Policy Division at the Ministry of Environment, said, "Since the Waste Export-Import Safety Management Center designation and guarantee deposit system are being implemented to ensure compliance with the international agreement under the Basel Convention to prevent illegal waste export and import, related industries should pay close attention to the amended laws."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.