The Korean Ministry of Environment has announced that the safety information for raw materials in 76 household chemical products will be made available on the Green Nuri Living Environment Safety Information System (https://ecolife.me.go.kr/ecolife/systemInfo ) starting December 12, 2024. This initiative aims to help consumers easily verify the safety of products through an intuitive leaf grading system. 

Key Highlights: 

• Leaf Grading System: The safety of each product is indicated by the number of leaves, ranging from one to four. Four leaves signify no safety concerns, while one leaf indicates that safer alternatives are recommended. 

• Voluntary Participation: Fifteen companies have voluntarily disclosed safety information for ingredients in 11 categories, including detergents and laundry detergents, covering a total of 76 products. 

• Safety Grades: None of the disclosed products received the lowest grade, which recommends substitution with safer ingredients. The majority of products fell into the three-leaf category, representing 55.8% of the total. 

• Consumer Trust: Park Yeon-jae, Director of the Environmental Health Bureau, emphasized that this transparency will help consumers easily understand safety information and build trust in the companies involved. 

Looking ahead, the Ministry plans to launch a next-generation chemical product management system in the first half of 2025, which will provide even more detailed safety information to ensure consumer safety. 

On September 26, 2024, the Ministry of Environment announced a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Waste Management Act. This amendment aims to enhance waste management practices and align regulations with current standards.

Key changes include: 

1. Return of Follow-up Management Performance Deposits: Adjusting the interest rate for returning deposits to match the average rate of one-year term deposits at commercial banks. 

2. Updated Definition of Waste Toxic Substances: Aligning with the revised Chemicals Control Act to better classify toxic substances. 

3. Clarification of Medical Waste Categories: Including human secretions such as bodily fluids, secretions, and sputum (excluding blood) as medical waste. 

4. Enhancement of Recycling Facilities: Upgrading classification facilities to enforcement ordinances specifying types of waste treatment facilities. 

5. Standardization of Expiration Dates for Waste Disposal Business Conformity: Distributing expiration dates of conformity confirmations evenly over five years. 

Detailed Amendments 

1. Return of Follow-up Management Performance Deposits (Article 31): 

• The return rate will be adjusted to reflect the average interest rate of one-year term deposits at commercial banks. 

2. Classification of Toxic Substances (Annex 1): 

• Toxic substances will be categorized as acute, chronic, or ecological hazards under the Chemicals Control Act. 

• Additional categories include restricted, permitted, prohibited, and accident-preparedness substances. 

3. Medical Waste Definition (Annex 2): 

• Human secretions such as bodily fluids, secretions, and sputum (excluding blood) will be classified as general medical waste. 

4. Recycling Facilities (Annex 3): 

• Classification facilities will be upgraded to enforcement ordinances specifying types of waste treatment facilities. 

5. Conformity Confirmation Expiration Dates (Schedule 5): 

• The initial expiration date for existing processors licensed until 2023 will be evenly distributed over five years. 

• The validity period will start in the month's first quarter following the approval date. 

The  public consultation ended on November 6, 2024.