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Environmental & waste permits

Waste Recycling Business Permit in Korea — Intermediate, Final and Comprehensive Recycling Facility Standards, Change Permits and the 5-Year Suitability Confirmation

The intermediate recycling business that turns waste into intermediate processed waste, the final recycling business that recycles intermediate processed waste according to the recycling principles, and the comprehensive recycling business that does both require a waste disposal business permit under Article 25 of the Wastes Control Act. A recycling business may apply for the permit directly without the business plan suitability notice procedure, but disqualifications, location, facility standards and effects on the surrounding environment are still reviewed under the same criteria. Designated waste is permitted by the regional environmental office, and other waste by the city or province. After the permit, changes of waste to be recycled, location or capacity require a change permit, changes of trade name, representative or technical capability require a change report within 30 days, and a suitability confirmation must be obtained every 5 years. Operating without a permit or continuing to operate without a suitability confirmation is punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50,000,000 won.

Written by Hwang Yunsang, Administrative Agent · Published 2026-10-12 · Updated 2026-10-12

Procedure

  1. 1. Decide the business type and the waste to be recycled

    Choose among intermediate, final and comprehensive recycling depending on whether you make intermediate processed waste or carry out final recycling, and fix the types of waste and the recycling methods. If designated waste is included, the regional environmental office is in charge, and for other waste the city or province. Recycling household waste other than food waste and workplaces subject to a waste treatment report follow separate procedures, not this permit.

  2. 2. Decide whether to submit a business plan

    Under Article 25(17) of the Wastes Control Act, a recycling business can apply for the permit directly without the business plan procedure, in which case disqualifications, location, facility standards and environmental effects are reviewed at the permit stage. If you are concerned about location restrictions, you can first submit a waste treatment business plan (Form No. 17) with a recycling plan and obtain a suitability notice. After a suitability notice, you must secure the facilities, equipment and technical capability and apply for the permit within 2 years (3 years if incineration or landfill facilities must be installed), which can be extended by up to 1 year in total for unavoidable reasons.

  3. 3. Secure facilities, equipment and technical capability

    When recycling waste other than designated waste (excluding construction waste), you need a storage facility that can hold at least 10 days and up to 30 days of the daily recycling capacity (including an impermeable floor and a roof or cover) and at least one recycling facility. Storage standards differ for food waste and animal residues (at least 1 day and up to 30 days) and for waste wood, waste catalysts, coal ash, lithium secondary batteries and similar items (at least 10 days and up to 180 days), and at least one vehicle is required if you collect and transport the waste yourself. Technical capability means at least one person holding a waste treatment industrial engineer, air environment industrial engineer, water environment industrial engineer or industrial chemistry industrial engineer qualification or an environment craftsman qualification, and in specified cases such as mechanical recycling with a daily capacity under 50 tons, one appointed technical staff member can be used instead.

  4. 4. Submit the permit application

    Submit the waste disposal business permit application (Form No. 18) with a statement of facilities and equipment, the recycling facility installation statement with drawings and process chart, the recycling process chart for the waste to be recycled, documents proving technical capability, and the basis for calculating storage capacity. If you did not go through the business plan procedure and the recycling facility is an air or water emission facility, you also submit the attachments for the emission facility permit or report. When the permit is granted you receive a permit certificate (Form No. 19 or No. 20), and failing to start business within 1 year after the permit is a ground for revocation or business suspension.

  5. 5. Change permits, change reports and the 5-year suitability confirmation

    A change permit must be obtained in advance for a change of the waste to be recycled or the recycling method, relocation of the recycling facility, an increase in transport vehicles, a new recycling facility, a change of recycling capacity of 30% or more (50% or more for final or comprehensive recycling businesses recovering metals), and a change of the permitted storage volume. A change of trade name, representative or technical capability requires a change report (Form No. 21) within 30 days from the date of the change, and the authority must notify whether the report is accepted within 20 days. After the permit, every 5 years you submit a suitability confirmation application (Form No. 21-6) no later than 3 months before expiry, with photos of the storage facility and data on the previous year's waste received, quantity processed and operating days.

Required documents

  • Waste disposal business permit application (Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Form No. 18)
  • Statement of facilities and equipment
  • Recycling facility installation statement with drawings and recycling process chart
  • Recycling process chart for the waste to be recycled (including a mass balance diagram for food waste)
  • Current technical capability and documents proving qualifications
  • Documents showing the storage capacity and its calculation basis
  • Attachments for an emission facility permit application or report (when installing a recycling facility that is an emission facility without the business plan procedure)
  • Waste treatment business plan (same Enforcement Rule, Form No. 17) and recycling plan (when going through the business plan procedure first)
  • Letter of authorization (when filed by an agent)

Fees

Typically several hundred thousand won to around one million won in the industry · We quote after consultation depending on the business type (intermediate, final or comprehensive recycling), the number of waste types, whether the business plan procedure is used, and whether it is a change permit or suitability confirmation application. Government fees and the costs of preparing facility drawings and measurements are separate.

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Legal basis and review date

  • Wastes Control Act, Article 25
  • Wastes Control Act, Article 25-3
  • Wastes Control Act, Article 27
  • Wastes Control Act, Article 64
  • Wastes Control Act, Article 65
  • Enforcement Decree of the Wastes Control Act, Article 10-2
  • Enforcement Decree of the Wastes Control Act, Annex 5-3
  • Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Article 28
  • Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Article 29
  • Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Article 33
  • Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Article 34-10
  • Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Annex 7

Checked against the statutes on

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

  • Failing to start business within 1 year after the permit, or suspending business for 1 year or more without justifiable reason, is a ground for permit revocation or business suspension, so apply for the permit in line with your facility operation schedule.
  • The suitability confirmation application requires data on the previous year's waste received, quantity processed and operating days, so keep the electronic information processing program entries and ledgers in order.

Frequently asked questions

Does a waste recycling business also need a business plan suitability notice first?
No. Under Article 25(17)3 of the Wastes Control Act, intermediate, final and comprehensive recycling businesses can apply for the permit directly without the business plan procedure. However, at the permit stage disqualifications, whether the location conflicts with other laws, facilities and technical capability, and effects on the surrounding environment are reviewed under the same criteria, so if the location is uncertain, submitting a business plan first to obtain a suitability notice is also an option.
How many technical staff are needed for a final recycling business permit?
When recycling waste other than designated waste, at least one person holding a waste treatment industrial engineer, air environment industrial engineer, water environment industrial engineer or industrial chemistry industrial engineer qualification or an environment craftsman qualification is needed. For mechanical recycling such as compression, shredding or cutting with a daily recycling capacity under 50 tons (under 100 tons for waste wood), one technical staff member who works in recycling at the site can be used instead. Separate qualification standards apply when recovering energy with an incineration heat recovery facility or recycling electric vehicle waste batteries.
Do I need a change permit to add a type of waste to be recycled?
In principle, a change permit is required. However, adding only the waste to be recycled while keeping the detailed recycling method unchanged is handled by a change report filed before the change. Changing permitted items without a change permit is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30,000,000 won.
When must a waste disposal business obtain a suitability confirmation?
Every 5 years regardless of business type, applying no later than 3 months before the validity period expires. Failing to obtain a suitability confirmation is a ground for permit revocation, and continuing to operate is punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50,000,000 won. If the authority does not notify the result by the expiry date, the business may continue operating after expiry.
Can an administrative agent handle a waste recycling business permit?
Yes. Hwang Yunsang Administrative Office reviews the business type and the competent authority, prepares the waste treatment business plan and recycling plan, organizes the permit application, statement of facilities and equipment and technical capability documents, and submits them to the city or province or the regional environmental office on your behalf. After the permit, we also prepare and submit change permit and change report applications and the 5-year suitability confirmation application.

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Contact us

Hwang Yunsang Administrative Office in Songdo, Incheon prepares and submits administrative documents and explains the procedure. If your situation is similar, send us a message.

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📍 2697, 26F POSCO Tower-Songdo, 165 Convensia-daero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Republic of Korea · 📞 010-3374-2687 · 🌐 hwangadmin.com

This guide is general information based on public sources. Requirements, documents and deadlines differ by case and by the competent agency, so please confirm them before you proceed.