농자재 EPR 적용실태와 정책과제

Abstract

미래 순환사회를 지향하는 다양한 제도와 정책 가운데 폐기물에 관련된 중요한 것으로 생산자책임 재활용제도(EPR)를 들 수 있다. 폐기 대상 품목과 포장재를 생산하는 생산자가 의무적으로 이들을 최종 수거하고 재활용해야 한다는 것이 제도의 핵심이다. 최소 자원의 사용과 최대 폐자원의 재활용을 지향한 제도이다.

우리의 경우 2003년부터 EPR제도를 도입하였으며 그동안 폐기물 부담금 대상이 되어왔던 품목과 포장재들이 이 제도 아래 관리되어 오고 있다. 농업용 기자재 가운데 농용 비닐과 비료포대가 선도적으로 이 제도의 적용을 받았으며 지금까지 점차 그 범위와 대상이 확대되어 오고 있다.

농업용 기자재에 대한 EPR 도입 시 해당 기업의 입장에서는 경영적인 어려움을 감내해야 한다. 농업용 비닐의 경우 자발적 협약에서 전면적인 EPR로의 전환으로 인해 부담금이 5배 정도 증가하게 되었다. 무기질 비료포대의 경우에도 폐기물 부담금에서 EPR로 전환되면서 증가된 부담을 줄여주기 위해 유예적인 부담금 인하가 있어왔다. 유기부산물 비료포대의 경우에는 정책홍보 미흡과 관련 기관의 부적절한 조치 및 대응으로 관련 기관 간 갈등이 심화되고 있다.

농업용 기자재에 대한 EPR의 적용에도 몇 가지 중요한 문제가 지적되고 있다. EPR 적용 시 기본적인 원칙인 오염 원인자 책임의 원칙과 시장 거래 시 EPR 적용 대상 배제가 충분히 검토되었는가에 대한 의문이다. 아울러 제도 도입과 시행 전, 그리고 시행 과정에서 검토해야 할 현실적인 내용과 문제들도 면밀하게 정리되어 있지 않다.

이 연구는 이러한 배경 아래에서 단기간에 걸쳐 시행되었다.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which has been implemented since 2003, aims to minimize the consumption of resources that can cause environmental problems and to maximize recycling through mandatory recycling. EPR is a system in which producers bear the costs for collecting and recycling goods and packing materials in optimal ways. Discarded agricultural materials, including plastic waste and fertilizer and feed sacks, have gradually become subject to EPR. They have been changed from the objects of the waste disposal charge system to those of voluntary agreements or EPR. The Korean government has set the rates of mandatory recycling for each of goods and packing materials and treatment costs per unit weight. And mutual aid associations by related item and the Korea Recycling Service Agency are operating this system. In the case of agricultural films, producers picked up and recycled discarded films from 2008 to 2014 through voluntary agreements. The films became the object of the waste disposal charge system in 2015, and will be the subject of alloted charges for recycling after 2016. For the recycling of scrapped sacks of inorganic fertilizers, manufacturers have payed alloted charges for recycling to the mutual aid association through voluntary agreements. However, there are conflicts over discarded sacks of organic by-product fertilizers owing to various problems in the system implementation and management processes. The organic by-product fertilizer companies, which filed an administrative litigation, argue that the application of EPR is problematic due to lack of PR of the policy and most farmers' market transaction. The United States and Japan have clear principles and goals of EPR application. In the two countries, goods transacted in the market are excluded from the subjects of control; the Polluter Pays Principle is applied; systems different from general cases are utilized for agriculture and rural areas; and direct subsidies are also provided in consideration of farmers' difficulty. These features show the policies different from Korea's. Therefore, if EPR is applied to agricultural materials in the future, a close examination of the following and differentiated application are needed. 1) Because the treatment process of discarded agricultural materials in rural regions is very different from that of general products, it is necessary to seek special ways to promote their recycling. 2) The Polluter Pays Principle and the principle of exclusion from control targets in the case of market transaction should be applied to scrapped agricultural materials. 3) Administrative agencies' active participation is necessary, and the government's support may be needed. 4) In managing the items of discarded agricultural materials subject to EPR, an organization independent of the existing organization should be recognized, because the occurrence and treatment methods of them are different from those of general products and packing materials. In the future, more agricultural materials discarded in rural areas will be the objects of EPR. Thus, it is important to apply the logical and field-oriented system. The unilateral, uniform application of the system and policy implementation may cause results different from the promotion of recycling. It is necessary to seek methods to apply the reasonable EPR system through surveys on items of related scrapped agricultural materials and types of packing materials, and investigations into the current state of relevant treatment and treatment costs.

Researchers : Kang Changyong and Suh Daeseok Research period : 2015. 10. ~ 12. E-mail address : cykang@krei.re.kr