Korea Environment Corporation expands public-private pilot, growing collection network to more than 220 sites

The Korea Environment Corporation, an agency under the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, announced Wednesday it will launch a nationwide pilot program to establish a collection and recycling system for end-of-life electric motorcycles.

Unlike conventional automobiles, electric motorcycles have no dedicated end-of-life disposal framework, so decommissioned vehicles are currently handled on an ad hoc basis through repair shops, dealerships or scrapyards.

The high proportion of plastic in the frame and the small battery capacity make electric motorcycles relatively low in recycling value, underscoring the need for a stable, structured collection and recycling system.

The pilot is a follow-up to the e-Mobility Collection and Recycling Pilot Program launched in February 2025, and brings together the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, E-Circulation Governance, the Korea Electric Two-Wheeled Vehicle Association and the Korea Motorcycle Maintenance Association.

With the Korea Motorcycle Maintenance Association joining as a new partner, more than 50 specialized electric motorcycle sales and service locations will be added to the network, expanding the total number of collection sites to more than 220.

The Korea Motorcycle Maintenance Association will operate the newly added collection sites, supporting the storage and pickup of decommissioned electric motorcycles, while E-Circulation Governance will collect the vehicles and transfer them to specialized recyclers for material-by-material processing — covering batteries, metals and plastics.

Spent batteries generated during battery replacement will also be collected through the same network.

The Korea Environment Corporation, together with the ministry, will manage and verify collection and recycling performance through its EcoAS operations management information system, and will analyze collection volumes along with the costs of collection, transport and recycling.

Based on those findings, the corporation plans to review a collection and recycling framework suited to real-world conditions and support future improvements to the regulatory regime.

"This pilot program is designed to systematically collect end-of-life electric motorcycles and recover useful materials — including those in batteries — for reuse," said Moon Gap-saeng, director of resource circulation at the Korea Environment Corporation. "We will build a collection and recycling system that can be applied in the field and lay the groundwork needed for institutionalization based on the program's results."

An illustration of the electric motorcycle collection and recycling process [Korea Environment Corporation]
An illustration of the electric motorcycle collection and recycling process [Korea Environment Corporation]

thlee@heraldcorp.com