Overall MSW composition
According to the MOE, MSW disposed of in Korea for the year 2009 is composed of the
following: 43% of the total MSW was disposed of in VBWF bags, while 27% was segregated as food waste, and 30%
was sorted as recyclable waste for the year 2009 . Compared to the data in 1997, the waste set out for
disposal in VBWF bags had decreased by 39% (Figure 15). The major cut down in that category was due
to the mandatory separate collection of food waste starting in 2006. The fraction of food waste, which
has had its own category since 2006, had stabilized in the last three years leading up to 2009, while the
amount of waste disposed of in VBWF bags had slightly decreased. On the other hand, the quantity of
recyclable waste had continually increased from 4.6 million tons in 1997 to 5.7 million tons in 2009 as
illustrated in Figure 15. More detailed MSW composition in each category will be discussed in the
following sections.