South Korea Solid Waste Management - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)

The South Korea solid waste management market size is projected to be USD 23.08 billion in 2025, USD 24.06 billion in 2026, and reach USD 31.65 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 5.64% from 2026 to 2031. This report is segmented by Service Type (Collection Services, Transportation & Logistics, Recycling & Material Recovery, Treatment & Disposal, and More), by Waste Type (Municipal Solid Waste, Industrial Waste, Hazardous Waste, Agricultural Waste, and More), and by Source (Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional). The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

South Korea Solid Waste Management Market Trends and Insights

Volume-Based Waste Fee System Enhancing Waste Segregation Efficiency

South Korea marked 30 years of nationwide implementation of the Volume-Based Waste Fee in 2025. The Ministry of Environment stated that the system had eliminated 160 million tons of household waste and produced KRW 45 trillion (USD 31.7 billion) in economic benefits from waste reduction and recycling. The landfill ban in the greater capital region took effect in 2026 and placed greater emphasis on source separation. The South Korea solid waste management market, therefore, has a stronger need for sorting capacity, reverse logistics, and organic waste processing. Higher private treatment costs can encourage municipalities and operators to improve the quality of the material they collect. The system also supports investment in biogas facilities and sorting equipment that can process separated organic and dry recyclable waste.

Expansion of Smart Waste Collection Using IoT and AI Technologies

Digital collection systems are moving from pilot projects to broader operational deployment across the South Korea solid waste management market. In 2026, Seoul expanded the use of approximately 6,000 RFID-equipped food-waste bins across apartment complexes and commercial districts, enabling pay-as-you-throw charging, automated weighing, and real-time collection monitoring. Hyundai Motor Company launched a six-month pilot in Seongbuk-gu in April 2026 using two ST1-platform smart collection vehicles equipped with digital fleet management capabilities to optimize municipal waste collection. At the same time, RECO and Ecube Labs are developing an edge AIoT sensor integrating RADAR technology with vision AI cameras for deployment at more than 300 factory waste loading bays, enabling automated waste identification and fill-level monitoring. Municipalities and private waste operators are also increasingly adopting IoT-enabled smart bins, cloud-based route optimization software, GPS-enabled fleet management, and digital waste-tracking platforms to improve operational efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Limited Land Availability for New Waste Treatment and Disposal Facilities

Limited sites for new facilities constrain the South Korea solid waste management market. The Sudokwon Landfill Site stopped accepting non-incinerated waste in 2026, having served the Seoul Capital Area since 1992. Municipalities must manage a treatment gap while projects remain in the design, permitting, and site-selection stages. Private treatment arrangements can raise costs for municipalities and industrial users that need additional capacity. The 5th Waste Management Master Plan seeks to end direct landfill disposal for most waste categories by 2027. Without suitable sites, new capacity can take longer to reach operation even as demand for treatment grows. This constraint gives existing permitted facilities a stronger role in local treatment networks.

Other drivers and restraints analyzed in the detailed report include:

• Rapid Growth in Food Waste Recycling and Bioenergy Production
• Government Investment in Resource Circulation and Zero-Waste Cities
• High Processing Costs for Composite Plastic and Multi-Layer Packaging Waste

Segment Analysis

Recycling and material recovery held 38% of the South Korea solid waste management market share by service type in 2025. The segment benefits from mandatory EPR obligations for key packaging materials and a broad base of food-waste processing. The South Korea solid waste management market size for recycling-related services is supported by decades of public investment and EPR-funded private participation. This installed base provides recurring work in collection, sorting, composting, feed conversion, and material recovery.

Waste-to-Energy is forecast to grow at an 8.3% CAGR from 2026 to 2031 as landfill restrictions redirect investment to incineration and biogas generation. Incheon plans to rebuild the Songdo Resource Circulation Center for KRW 264.8 billion (USD 186.2 million) by 2030. Gyeonggi Province also plans to have a public incineration capacity of 6,359 tons per day. Across the remaining service types, digital route planning is improving efficiency in collection and logistics, while treatment and disposal face rising costs as private capacity fills the public gap. The others category includes hazardous specialist services and laboratory waste. Biogasification is becoming a larger part of treatment activity as organic waste generators comply with 2026 obligations.

Complete Report Scope:

• By Service Type
  • Collection Services
  • Transportation & Logistics
  • Recycling & Material Recovery
  • Treatment & Disposal
  • Waste-to-Energy
  • Others
• By Waste Type
  • Municipal Solid Waste
  • Industrial Waste
  • Hazardous Waste
  • Construction & Demolition Waste
  • Agricultural Waste
  • Medical Waste
  • Others
• By Source
  • Residential
  • Commercial
  • Industrial
  • Institutional

List of Companies Covered in this Report:

• ECORBIT Co., Ltd.
• SK ecoplant Co., Ltd.
• IS Dongseo Co., Ltd.
• KC Green Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Hansol Paper Co., Ltd.
• Insun ENT Co., Ltd.
• Eco Management Korea Holdings Inc. (EMK)
• Koentec Co., Ltd.
• Daeil Environment Co., Ltd.
• KG ETS Co., Ltd.
• renewus Co., Ltd.
• Veolia Korea
• Environment & Energy Solution Co., Ltd.
• DOOBIWON Co., Ltd.
• ECO-HOPIA Co., Ltd.
• CEK Co., Ltd.
• Samyang Ecotech Co., Ltd.
• KC Eco & Solutions Co., Ltd.
• Corentech Co., Ltd.
• Sejin G&E Co., Ltd.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support