EXTRACTING CRUDE OIL FROM PLASTIC

[Anchor Lead]

The amount of plastic waste has surged nearly 20 percent as the use of disposable products soared in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led some companies to develop technologies for extracting crude oil from discarded plastic or re-produce it into new plastic.

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This waste produced on a daily basis, including packaging materials for food products, is mostly made of plastic. When plastic waste is heated to over 400 degrees Celsius in a cylindrical reactor, brown oil starts coming out some 14 hours later. Eight tons of discarded plastic is transformed into 4.5 tons of oil. This is how plastic waste is turned into fuel for power generation.

[Soundbite] Kim Ji-yeon(Eco Creation) : "When plastic is incinerated, it emits large amounts of hazardous substances such as dioxin. We produce high-quality recycled oil using a pyrolysis liquefaction system."

After another round of refining, the mixture turns into a raw material for new plastic. Korean firms are gradually expanding their presence in the plastic recycling market, which is so far dominated by foreign companies. The global plastic recycling market was worth 54 trillion won in 2021 and is expected to grow by 7 percent every year. Four years from now it's predicted to be worth 78 trillion won. In addition to resource conservation, the number one advantage is the reduction in carbon emissions.

[Soundbite] Kim Tae-jin(SK Innovation) : "It emits 60-80% less Carbon dioxide compared to making plastic from crude oil or incinerating plastic waste."

With more and more companies implementing environmental, social and corporate governance, a growing number of conglomerates are taking part in the eco-friendly sector. However, experts say the fundamental solution lies in the efforts to minimize the use of plastics on a daily basis.