Waste Treatment Report: Who Must File and What to Submit — Collecting and Transporting Waste Paper, Scrap Metal and Used Clothing, Recycling, and Filing 15 Days Before Starting

Procedure

1. 1. Confirm whether a report is required and which type applies

   Sites that collect and transport, or sort, compress, reduce or cut (and, for waste electric wire, strip), waste paper, scrap metal, waste packaging subject to recycling obligations, waste electric wire and disposable cups must file if they are 1,000㎡ or larger in a special or metropolitan city or 2,000㎡ or larger in a city or county, and designated waste is excluded. Collecting and transporting the waste listed in Article 66(6) of the Enforcement Rule, such as used clothing discharged as household waste, waste tires, waste electrical appliances and emptied waste drums, requires a report without any size threshold. Recycling listed in Annex 16 of the Enforcement Rule, such as using waste as compost on one's own farmland or as livestock feed, also requires a report, so first decide whether you are filing a collection and transport report or a recycling report.

2. 2. Prepare vehicles and facilities

   A business that only collects and transports needs at least one vehicle for collecting and transporting waste and a contact point or office, and the standards do not require storage or recycling facilities. Vehicles must meet the treatment standards in Annex 5 of the Enforcement Rule, and waste paper, scrap metal, used clothing and similar household waste may be carried in a vehicle fitted with a sealed cover, or, for loads of 2 tons or less, in a vehicle covered with a synthetic resin or similar cover. A recycling reporter needs storage for at least 1 day and no more than 30 days of daily treatment capacity and at least one set of recycling equipment such as sorting or compressing equipment, plus at least one vehicle if it collects and transports the waste itself.

3. 3. Submit the report 15 days before starting

   For a collection and transport report, attach a document showing that the business is subject to the report and a collection and transport plan to the Form No. 56 report, and for the waste in Article 66(6) of the Enforcement Rule, such as used clothing, attach only the collection and transport plan. For a recycling report, attach a description of the recycling use or method, installation statements for the recycling and storage facilities, and a plan for treating waste generated during recycling to the Form No. 56-2 report. Either way, submit it to the city or province with jurisdiction over the site at least 15 days before starting waste treatment, and the report form sets no fee.

4. 4. Receive the acceptance notice and the report certificate

   The city or province notifies whether it accepts the report within 20 days of receipt and issues a report certificate if the report is in order. If it gives no notice of acceptance or of an extension of the processing period within 20 days, the report is deemed accepted on the day after that period ends. A reporter handling business waste must pay a contribution to the waste treatment mutual aid association or take out treatment performance guarantee insurance before starting business, and because the exemption applies only to reporters who recycle waste paper, scrap metal and similar waste by sorting, compressing and similar methods, a business that only collects and transports should check whether this applies to it.

5. 5. Change reports and compliance obligations

   A collection and transport reporter must file a change report with the report certificate before changing its trade name or site location, the types of waste it collects and transports, or the number of vehicles, and a recycling reporter must do the same before changing the waste it recycles, the use or method, the type of facility, storage capacity, the number of vehicles and similar items. Collected waste may be carried only to places where it can be properly recycled, disposed of or stored, and entrusted waste generally may not be re-entrusted. Entrusted recycling (transport) contracts must be kept for 3 years, and waste paper, scrap metal and similar waste in storage must be screened, for example with barriers.

Required documents

• Waste treatment (collection and transport) report (Form No. 56 of the Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act) or waste treatment (recycling) report (Form No. 56-2 of the same Rule); for changes, the change report on the same form and the report certificate
• Document showing that the business is subject to the waste treatment report (site area records, etc.; not required for collecting and transporting Article 66(6) waste such as used clothing)
• Waste collection and transport plan (for a collection and transport report, or a recycling report where the business collects and transports the waste itself)
• Vehicle details (type, tonnage and number of vehicles for the equipment section of the report form)
• Description of the recycling use or method by recycling type (recycling report)
• Recycling facility installation statement (recycling report)
• Storage facility or storage container installation statement, including capacity and its calculation basis (recycling report)
• Plan for treating waste generated during recycling (recycling report)
• Letter of authorization (when submitted by an agent)

Fees

Typically from several hundred thousand won to several million won in the industry · We quote after a consultation based on whether you only collect and transport or also recycle, the target waste and site area, the number of vehicles, and whether it is a change report. Government fees are separate.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Wastes Control Act, Article 40
• Wastes Control Act, Article 46
• Wastes Control Act, Article 66
• Wastes Control Act, Article 68
• Enforcement Decree of the Wastes Control Act, Article 7
• Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Article 63-2
• Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Article 66
• Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Article 67
• Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Article 67-2
• Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Annex 5
• Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Annex 16
• Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Annex 17
• Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Annex 17-2
• Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Form No. 56
• Enforcement Rule of the Wastes Control Act, Form No. 56-2

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-16

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

• Continuing waste treatment during a treatment ban is subject to a fine for negligence of up to 10,000,000 won, so stop accepting waste as soon as you receive the order.
• Adding collection vehicles, or increasing recycling facility capacity by a cumulative 30% or more after the report, requires a change report, so file it with the report certificate before bringing in vehicles or expanding.

Frequently asked questions