South Korea Braces for Garbage Bag Shortages Amidst Iran Strait of Hormuz Blockade

South Korea is proactively assessing its supply of volume-based garbage bags as disruptions to naphtha supplies, stemming from Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, threaten domestic production. The Ministry of Climate Change has initiated a nationwide inventory check, responding to reports from manufacturers indicating a limited, approximately one-month supply of raw materials.

Naphtha Supply Disruption and Rising Costs

The core issue lies in the production of polyethylene, a key component of garbage bags, which relies on naphtha as a feedstock. Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is causing difficulties in securing naphtha supplies, leading to increased prices for polyethylene and other naphtha-derived materials. According to a recent survey by the Korea Plastic Industry Cooperative Federation, the price of polyethylene has already risen by approximately 200,000 won this month, with some companies anticipating further increases of 400,000 to 800,000 won next month MK Korea.

National Stockpile Assessment

While local governments maintain stockpiles of garbage bags, mitigating immediate crisis concerns, the Ministry of Climate Change is preemptively assessing the national inventory due to the uncertain duration of the situation in the Middle East. This proactive measure aims to prevent potential shortages should the disruptions persist.

Scale of Polyethylene Dependence

South Korea’s annual production of volume-rate bags approaches 1.8 billion units. In 2024, 1,446,726,000 general-use volume-rate bags were produced, comprising 521,285,000 high-density polyethylene bags (36%) and 44.29 million linear low-density polyethylene bags (3.1%). 345,773,000 food waste bags were manufactured, with high-density polyethylene accounting for 75% (259,514,000 bags) of that total. The reliance on polyethylene is even greater when reusable volume-rate bags are factored in.

Broader Context: U.S.-Iran War and Energy Security

These concerns arise against the backdrop of a prolonged U.S.-Iran war and a broader energy crisis. South Korea, heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels, is particularly vulnerable to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The government has already raised the resource security crisis alert for crude oil from “attention” to “caution” as of March 18th, 2026 MK Korea. South Korea is also coordinating with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to address potential supply chain issues and stabilize the market Sedaily.