South Korean consumers are gradually shifting away from plastic towards materials seen as more recyclable, as awareness grows about the environmental impact of single-use packaging, a new survey showed.
Preference for aluminium cans has risen sharply over the past year, according to a nationwide survey of 1,011 adults conducted by nonprofit Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM). The share of respondents favouring aluminium cans reached 34.7 per cent in 2026, up from 23.9 per cent a year earlier, while plastic bottles remained the most preferred option at 43.4 per cent.
Globally, aluminium is already the most recycled beverage packaging material, with recycling rates reaching around 75 per cent in 2023 – significantly higher than plastic bottles and glass. Industry and research data also show that aluminium has one of the highest “closed-loop” recycling rates among single-use packaging, meaning it is more likely to be turned back into the same product without loss of quality.
The findings point to changing consumer behaviour as sustainability concerns reshape purchasing decisions, particularly in the beverage sector.
A large majority of respondents said recycling should go beyond simple collection to ensure materials are reused to make the same products, with 81.9 per cent agreeing with the concept of “closed-loop recycling”. Some 77.2 per cent said such systems are important for tackling climate change.
However, awareness of aluminium’s specific environmental advantages remained limited. Only 36.9 per cent of respondents said they knew that recycling aluminium cans into new cans can save about 95 per cent of the energy required to produce new material.
Just over half, or 54.0 per cent, correctly identified that aluminium cans can be recycled back into the same product, suggesting that understanding of so-called “can-to-can” recycling lags behind broader support for closed-loop systems.
“The results show that providing accurate information about aluminium’s environmental benefits can influence consumer choices and participation in recycling,” said Lee Dong-i, secretary general of KFEM.
Despite strong willingness to act – with 75.5 per cent saying they would choose recyclable packaging in future purchases and 78.3 per cent intending to properly separate aluminium cans – respondents cited several structural barriers.
The most common obstacles included a lack of space for sorting and storing recyclables (22.3 per cent), confusion over separation methods (14.0 per cent) and doubts about whether recycling is properly carried out (8.5 per cent).
Support for policy measures to strengthen recycling systems was high. Nearly 80 per cent of respondents backed installing can collection machines in supermarkets or community centres, offering incentives such as cash or reward points for returns. About 73 per cent supported mandatory labelling of recycled material content in products.
Globally, such measures – including deposit-return schemes and extended producer responsibility policies – have been linked to significantly higher collection rates for beverage containers, reinforcing calls for stronger infrastructure and incentives to improve recycling outcomes.
KFEM said the findings highlight the need to align policy and infrastructure with rising public awareness, including expanding collection systems, introducing deposit-return schemes and setting targets for closed-loop recycling.
