Will the Middle East Crisis Lead to a 'Garbage Bag Shortage'? "Only One Month of Bag Materials Left"

[Financial News] As concerns grow that the war involving the United States (US), Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran could even affect volume-based waste disposal bags, the government has begun checking stock levels of these bags.
According to the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and others on the 19th, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) sent an official notice to basic local governments nationwide that day and launched a survey on their stock of volume-based waste disposal bags. This is a preemptive inspection following reports from bag manufacturers that they have raw materials left for only about one month of production.
Volume-based waste disposal bags are made from polyethylene, such as linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) or high-density polyethylene (HDPE). These materials are produced from naphtha derived from crude oil. Recently, as the Islamic Republic of Iran has moved to block the Strait of Hormuz and other developments have unfolded, instability in naphtha supply has grown, driving up prices of other materials produced from naphtha as well.
A recent survey by the Korea Federation of Plastic Industry Cooperative on raw material supply conditions related to the Middle East situation found that polyethylene supply prices rose by about 200,000 won this month. Some companies have reportedly been notified that the supply price of low-density polyethylene will increase by an additional 400,000 won to as much as 800,000 won from next month.
Because local governments hold their own stocks of volume-based waste disposal bags, it does not mean bags will run out in a month. However, if instability in raw material supply becomes a reality, it is expected to have a significant impact.
Meanwhile, annual production of volume-based waste disposal bags in Korea is known to be close to 1.8 billion bags.
In 2024, about 1,446,726,000 volume-based waste disposal bags for general household waste were produced. Of these, 521,285,000 were high-density polyethylene bags and 44,290,000 were linear low-density polyethylene bags, accounting for 36% and 3.1% respectively.
In 2024, 345,773,000 volume-based waste disposal bags for food waste were produced, of which high-density polyethylene bags made up 75% (259,514,000 bags).
If reusable volume-based waste disposal bags are also included—whose production reached 719,840,000 bags in 2024—the total number of polyethylene volume-based waste disposal bags is even higher.
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Su-yeon Reporter