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LG Chem's Iksan plant in North Jeolla Province / Courtesy of LG Chem

By Baek Byung-yeul

LG Chem is accelerating its efforts to improve its environmental performance, becoming the first chemical company in Korea to achieve international certification for its initiative to recycle waste into resources without using landfills, according to the company, Wednesday.

The company said its two domestic plants in Iksan and Naju obtained Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL) certifications from global independent safety science company UL Solutions.

"Its Iksan plant succeeded in recycling 96 percent of all waste and received a gold rating from UL Solutions, and the Naju plant earned a silver rating with a recycling rate of 94 percent," a company spokesman said.

UL Solutions grants the ZWTL certification after evaluating a company's resource recycling efforts. Depending on how much waste a company recycles, it may receive a silver rank for a recycling rate of between 90 percent and 94 percent, a gold rank for a rate between 95 percent and 99 percent and a platinum rank for 100 percent.

LG Chem said its cathode-producing plant in Iksan recycled all ceramic containers that are otherwise discarded after use and succeeded in recycling 96 percent of 2,100 tons of waste generated in 2021, with a zero landfill rate.

The Naju plant implemented a process of reusing the cleaning liquid and as a result, the annual waste generation was reduced by 63 tons. The plant has also maintained a recycling rate of above 90 percent since 2018.

Given that the average waste recycling rate of domestic chemical product manufacturers, excluding pharmaceutical manufacturers, is at 61 percent, the recycling rates of its Iksan and Naju plants are about 30 percent higher than the average, the company said.

"We are monitoring the entire process from waste generation to disposal by using an integrated environmental safety management system at our workplaces. We will try to win the certification when we open a new workplace or expand the existing workplaces in the future," the official said.