South Korea has moved to eliminate plastic wrap-around labels on PET bottled drinking water, requiring producers to adopt label-free formats from 1 January 2026 as part of efforts to reduce plastic waste and improve recyclability.
According to the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea, all bottled water products sold domestically must be manufactured and distributed without traditional plastic labels. Mandatory product information will instead be delivered through QR codes printed on bottle caps or displayed on secondary packaging.
Under the new rule, essential details — including brand and product name, manufacturing and expiry dates, water source and contact information — must remain accessible to consumers via digital means. For multi-packs or small bundled formats, the required information may appear on outer packaging or carrying handles rather than on individual bottles.
The regulation took full effect from 1 January 2026 for online sales and bundled products. A one-year transition period applies to individually sold bottles in physical retail stores, allowing smaller retailers time to adjust point-of-sale systems and consumer information access.
Authorities estimate that the removal of plastic labels could reduce plastic waste by approximately 2,270 tonnes per year, based on production volumes of around 5.2 billion bottled water units in 2024. By eliminating sleeve and wrap-around materials that must be separated during recycling, the measure is expected to improve PET stream purity and sorting efficiency.
For packaging converters and machinery suppliers, the mandate is likely to accelerate demand for alternative marking technologies, including high-speed cap printing and direct digital marking systems. Existing labelling equipment dedicated to bottled water lines may require retrofits or replacement to comply with the new standard.
The policy forms part of South Korea’s broader strategy to reduce single-use plastics and strengthen circular resource systems. For beverage producers operating in the country, the shift signals a regulatory preference for simplified mono-material packaging and digital labelling formats — a direction increasingly reflected in plastic reduction initiatives globally.
