• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.100-114
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• 2005

Organic waste, which is defined as wastes derived from various biological organisms that contain more than 40% of organic materials, is generated about 100 million tons per year in Korea. These organic wastes are now controlled by several governmental entities, under different rules and regulations, leading to the improper management and inefficient treatment. Therefore, integrated management system is primarily needed for the efficient recycling of organic waste. In this study, six kinds of organic wastes, which are food waste, sludges(sewage, waste water, night soil), animal excreta, animals and plants residues, and three kinds of recycling by-products(compost, feed, anaerobic digestion by-products) made of organic wastes, were analyzed for their physical and chemical characteristics. On the basis of this result, a possibility for the efficient recycling of organic waste was investigated.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.153-161
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• 2023

The worldwide effects of COVID-19 have led to a surge in online shopping and contactless services. The consumption pattern has caused the issues such as the environmental pollution together with the increase of plastic waste. Reducing the reliance on the petroleum based plastic use for the package and replacing it with environmentally friendly material are the simple ways in order to solve those problems. Paper is an eco-friendly product with high recyclability as the food packaging materials but has still poor barrier properties. A barrier coating on surface of the paper can be achieved with the proper packaging materials featuring water, gas and grease barrier. Polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) coatings which are generally laminated or coated to paper are widely used in food packaging applications to protect products from moisture and provide water or grease resistance. However, recycling of packaging containing PE or PP matrix is limited and costly because those films are difficult to degrade in the environment. This study investigated the recyclability of modified acrylic emulsion coating papers compared to PE and PP polymer matrixes as well as their mechanical and gas barrier properties. The results showed that PE or modified acrylic emulsion coated papers had better mechanical properties compared to the uncoated paper as a control. PE or PP coating papers showed strong oil resistance property, achieving a kit rating of 12. Those papers also had a significantly higher percentage of screen reject during the recycling process than modified acrylic coated paper which had a screen rejection rate of 6.25%. In addition an uncoated paper had similar value of a screen rejection rate. It may suggest that modified acrylic emulsion coating paper can be more easily recycled than PE or PP coating papers. The overall results of the study found that modified acrylic emulsion coating paper would be a viable alternative to suggest a possible solution to an environmental problem as well as enhancing the weak mechanical and poor gas barrier properties of the paper against moisture.