캘리포니아의 플라스틱 감축 법제가 한국 정책에 주는 시사점 ― 생산, 소비, 폐기 단계별 접근 ―

This study aims to derive policy implications that can meaningfully contribute to South Korea’s forthcoming National Plastic Phase-out Roadmap, by comparatively analyzing the case of California, a leading U.S. state in establishing advanced legal frameworks to address plastic pollution. Under the structure of environmental federalism in the United States, California has implemented its own environmental legislation that is stricter and more innovative than federal standards, and has established a lifecycle-based regulatory framework that addresses plastic reduction across the stages of production, consumption, and disposal. This study compares, at the micro-level, the policy tools adopted by Korea and California at each lifecycle stage, and further analyzes their legal systems at the macro-level by comparing their legal structures and regulatory paradigms, their implementation and enforcement governance, and their approaches to international norms and just transition. This analysis reveals a key distinction: while South Korea’s legal system emphasizes efficient waste management based on the post-hoc correction of market failures, California adopts a proactive strategy aimed at a fundamental transformation by restructuring the market itself. This approach represents a paradigm shift in the plastic lifecycle, integrating production reduction, expanded use of recycled materials, and a just transition. Based on these findings, this study proposes key legislative tasks to be incorporated into South Korea’s new roadmap to proactively respond to the upcoming international plastics treaty. These tasks include establishing production reduction targets, enhancing the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, mandating the use of recycled materials, and the legal codification of the principle of actual recycling.