In spite of the controversy over the illegal garbage export, the quantity of waste plastics exported to Southeast Asia by Korea has decreased sharply in the first half of this year, but the quantity imported from Japan has increased.

Although the illegal export of garbage has caused the controversy, China and Southeast Asian nations are blocking the trash inflow, but the waste sent to Japan by our country has increased.

According to the National Assembly, the weight of plastic waste exported to Korea by the Democratic Party of Korea in the first half of this year is 33,255 tons, up 33.4% from 26,397 tons in the same period of last year .

This is the volume of plastic imported and exported as waste by the Environmental Authority.

On the other hand, waste plastics exported to the Philippines in the first half of this year fell to 114 tons, down to 1/15 of 1717 tons in the same period of last year.

In the same period, imports of plastics fell in Vietnam and Indonesia, and China has stopped importing plastic waste since January 2018.

The export of wastes to China has been blocked and illegal garbage imported from Southeast Asia has become a social problem.

The Ministry of Environment explained that Japanese plastics imported into Korea are mostly processed for synthetic fibers or pallets instead of for processing purposes.

However, as China and other Southeast Asian countries have begun to control imports of waste plastics, it is expected that Korea will be actively importing Japanese garbage.

In Japan, it is pointed out that waste generation and distribution sites are not clear, and that radioactive contamination can not be ruled out.

Yoo Seung-hee said, "The export of illegal plastic waste in the Philippines has been reduced since Southeast Asian exports, but the volume of imports from Japan has been increasing." He said, "We should thoroughly examine illegal waste and thoroughly examine the radioactivity."