| Abstract |
The world population is increasing and the demand for raw materials is increasing, while the supply of essential resources is restricted, and the extraction and use of raw materials have significant environmental impacts, such as the generation of elevated emissions of CO2. In a Circular Economy (CE), starting from the design stage, resources and products are divided, leased, re-used, repaired, refurbished and recycled as long as necessary, which this extends the product's life cycle, minimizing waste; when a product reaches the end of its life, its materials are kept over and over generating additional value. In Korea, due to the past urgent environmental issues, numerous policies related to CE (often referred to as "resources circulation") were implemented, although there is room for enhancements on circularity here depicted. The expected contribution of this work is to identify the main environmental issues in order to remark the most up-to-date notable Korean policies on CE, and to discuss about possible enhancements that can be effectively addressed through circularity. This manuscript is divided into 5 sections; (1) Introduction, (2) Introduction to CE, (3) Evolution towards a CE in Korea, (4) Discussion, and (5) Conclusion. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |