Feedstock System Assessment · 8 min read · DOC 01 OF 06
What this document is
Korea’s existing municipal waste system as externally classified — volumes, routes, and cost — re-read to size the residual that Advanced Circular Manufacturing addresses.
Three things this document says
- 6.96 Mt/yr is processed nationally; 1.28 Mt/yr goes to public landfill, a route that is closing.
- Outsourced treatment costs ~$149/t all-in VERIFIED; the closed landfill route cost ~$60/t. The ban removed the cheap benchmark.
- The Capital Region’s share of the displaced stream is ~1,750 t/day (MODELED) — Phase Initial at 400 TPD is ~8% of it.
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Carbotura · Circular Advantage Program · Feedstock System Assessment
Republic of Korea
Feedstock System Assessment
Korea recycles at an OECD-leading rate and still landfills 1.28 million tonnes of municipal residual a year. That route is closed in the Capital Region and closes nationally in 2030. This assessment reads the country’s own system through to the stream the ban leaves with nowhere to go — and what that stream costs to treat today.
§1
System Characterization — Korea’s Own Numbers
| Metric | Value | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal material processed, national | 6.96 Mt/yr · ~19,068 t/day | VERIFIED | KFEM via Eco-Business, 13 Apr 2026 |
| Public incineration | 4.40 Mt/yr | VERIFIED | KFEM |
| Public landfill | 1.28 Mt/yr · ~3,507 t/day | VERIFIED | KFEM |
| Private incineration | 0.84 Mt/yr | VERIFIED | KFEM |
| Private recycling | 0.44 Mt/yr | VERIFIED | KFEM |
| Recycling rate | ~54% (OECD-leading) | ESTIMATED | OECD |
| Population | ~51M national · ~26M Capital Region | ESTIMATED | — |
Table 1.1 — The national systemThe regulator is the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE), renamed October 2025 from the Ministry of Environment.
§2
The Landfill Route Is Closing
Direct landfill of combustible municipal residual is closed in the Capital Region and closes nationally in 2030 under the Framework Act on Resource Circulation (2018). The 1.28 Mt/yr currently landfilled is a stream with nowhere to go.
| Item | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Municipalities reliant on external treatment | 105 | KFEM VERIFIED |
| Municipalities with expansion plans | 96 | KFEM VERIFIED |
| Municipalities in construction | 12 | KFEM VERIFIED |
| Incineration plants planned, Capital Region | 27 | KFEM VERIFIED |
Table 2.1 — Capacity being built because a route is closingEach plant that reaches financial close commits its tonnage to combustion for decades.
§3
Cost Structure
| Route | Rate (KRW/t) | Rate (USD/t) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public landfill | 80,866 | ~$60 | CLOSED to direct disposal |
| Public incineration | 145,564 | ~$107 · ~$114 all-in | In-house alternative |
| Private-contractor treatment | 192,196 | ~$142 | ~30% premium over public VERIFIED |
| Statutory disposal charge on incineration | 10,000 | ~$7 | 2018 Framework Act |
| Fully Weighted Disposal Cost (FWDC) | 202,196 | ~$149 | Private-contractor treatment + statutory charge VERIFIED |
Table 3.1 — What treatment costsUSD/KRW 1,356.63 (3 Sep 2026). The source survey does not state the year its cost figures describe; reported April 2026 and treated as current-year.
Against public landfill at ~$60/t no manufacturing fee competes. The ban removes that benchmark. Against outsourced treatment at ~$149/t all-in, a Beneficiation Fee (TMC Fee) quoted at $100–150/t sits at or below across its entire range. Against in-house incineration at ~$114/t it clears only at the lower end. The offer is strongest where the counterparty already outsources — and 105 municipalities do.
§4
The Displaced Stream — the Carbotura-Addressable Volume
| Scenario | TPD | TPY | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National displaced landfill stream | 3,507 | 1,280,000 | VERIFIED | Currently landfilled; barred from that route |
| Capital Region share | ~1,750 | ~639,000 | MODELED | Population share ~26M / ~51M; replaced with Sudokwon intake data at characterisation |
| Phase Initial | 400 | 146,000 | Design | ~8% of the Capital Region stream |
| Phase Expanded | 1,200 | 438,000 | Design | ~69% of the Capital Region stream; no diversion from capacity already incinerating |
| Business-site (industrial) | — | — | UNVERIFIED | Separate, larger stream. First commissioned item at characterisation. |
Table 4.1 — Addressable volumeBecause Korea recycles at ~54%, the residual is post-recycling: chemically consistent, contractually available, and now legally barred from direct landfill.
§5
Regulatory Setting — a Statutory Route
The 2018 Framework Act on Resource Circulation provides a Circular Resource certification — a statutory end-of-waste route. Korea is unusual in carrying such a route in law rather than requiring an argument against a statute drafted without Advanced Circular Manufacturing in mind.
Carbotura pursues that certification actively. Nothing in this package is contingent on it. Whether the criteria accommodate a mixed residual stream, and how KSIC manufacturing divisions map, are open questions for Korean counsel and are the first items to resolve. No claim is made in this assessment about the classification of any facility, module or output stream.
§6
Legacy Mass — Sudokwon (Candidate)
The Sudokwon legacy landfill mass is carried as an Exogenesis™ candidate. Whether any of it is characterisable, and on what terms, is unresolved. It is recorded here as a candidate; nothing in the base case depends on it.
App. A
Appendix A — Evidence Chain
| Claim | Source | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.96 Mt/yr national; four-way split | KFEM survey via Eco-Business | 13 Apr 2026 | VERIFIED |
| FWDC ~$149/t | KFEM survey; 2018 Framework Act | Apr 2026 | VERIFIED |
| 105 / 96 / 12 / 27 municipalities and plants | KFEM survey | Apr 2026 | VERIFIED |
| MCEE renamed Oct 2025 | Government of the Republic of Korea | Oct 2025 | VERIFIED |
| Capital Region ~1,750 t/day | Population-share model | Sep 2026 | MODELED |
| Business-site volumes | — | — | UNVERIFIED |
App. B
Appendix B — Glossary
TPD / TPY
Tonnes per day / per year. TPY = TPD × 365 throughout.
FWDC
Fully Weighted Disposal Cost — the counterparty’s all-in cost of its current route. ~$149/t for outsourced treatment in Korea.
Sudokwon
The Capital Region: Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi — ~26M people.
Circular Resource certification
Korea’s statutory end-of-waste route under the 2018 Framework Act on Resource Circulation.
Indicative reference only — not an offer. This is an unsolicited Stage 1 document prepared without a Korean engagement in place. Pricing is available under a Circular Supply Agreement (CSA) or a Circular Materials Offtake Agreement (CMOA) — contact Carbotura. Financial figures are modelled estimates on standard contract parameters and are subject to feedstock characterisation. The Beneficiation Fee is modelled at the floor of the quoted $100–150/tonne range; the range, not a point, is what is offered. Projections use K-IFRS as the jurisdiction-appropriate basis and convert at USD/KRW 1,356.63 (3 September 2026). Municipal disposal economics are VERIFIED from a named survey reported April 2026, which does not state the year its cost figures describe. Business-site (industrial) volumes and gate rates are UNVERIFIED and are the first commissioned item at characterisation. The Capital Region displaced volume (~1,750 t/day) is MODELED from national volume by population share. No claim is made about the classification of any facility, module or output stream. Korean-language copy is pending native review.