Reintroduction of Deposit System on Single-use Cup! The Key is Resource Recyclability!

As the amendment of Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources was resolved   at a Cabinet council on the 2nd of June, Ministry of Environment officially announced that a refund- deposit system on disposable cups is set to start from June of 2022. The system asks a customer to pay a deposit to use a single-use cup at a cafe and give a refund when returning the container. In fact, it is not brand-new in Korea.

 

The First Introduction in 2002, and Homework It Left

Ministry of Environment first introduced the deposit system on disposable cups in 2002 in order to reduce the use of paper cups and to improve the collecting rate. At that time, it was upon the voluntary agreement with 5 café chains and 13 fast food restaurants. The ministry charged $0.083 and $0.041 for deposit on a fast food cup and a coffee cup respectively, and the unreturned deposit was supposed to be used for environmental scholarship and funds for environmental conservation.

According to the report, the collecting rate had increased 2-5% after the deposit system introduced annually. However, there had some negative feedbacks brought up. It was reported that a company in charge of managing the deposit used it for their promotion and marketing. Some pointed out that it burdened on consumers without any legal grounds and there were a few restaurants charged for cups even though they were not included in the agreement. The collecting rate then began to decline after a while and the effectiveness of the system had been questioned. With a political issue in the end, the system ended up being abolished as of March 20th in 2008.

As the industries of cafes, bakeries, and fast food restaurants were dramatically growing, the use of disposable cups went up accordingly while the collecting rate dropped to 5%. The products were abandoned in the streets, increasing the cost of pubic management. Made of various materials, most of the post-consumer cups were not recycled but incinerated or buried in landfills.

 

What’s New in the Deposit System of 2022?

The reintroduction of the deposit system was mentioned in the roadmap to reduce the use of disposables released by Ministry of Environment last year and the bills were approved during the final session of the parliament’s 20th term.

* Please read Volume #21 for more detailed information of “Roadmap of Reducing Disposables”

According to the amendment, the deposit system for single-use cups is planned to be integrated with the container-deposit legislation and be managed together under the name of ‘Resource circulation Deposit’ system. Then, how would it be different from the previous one?

First, standards for a single-use cup are going to be clarified. Ministry of Environment will set up the legal grounds to standardize a single-use cup to be managed and to build the collecting and recycling system so as to improve resource circulation.

Additionally, the department will specify the amount for deposit, reflecting recycling industry and policy needs.

Second, the public institutions in charge are going to be established. The deposit system will be controlled and managed by new public institutions, ‘Resource Circulation Deposit Committee’ and ‘Resource Circulation Deposit Center’. They will be in charge of general plans for the resource recovery and relevant tasks for deposit management. This is expected to lead to an efficient control of unreturned deposit and clear management unlike the past.

Other various options to improve recycling rate will be discussed, too. It includes allowing customers to return the containers anywhere, applying various returning system, and installing an unmanned returning machine for most populated areas. An officer from Resource Circulation of Ministry of Environment addressed that the policy would help reduce carbon emissions by 66 percent by recycling and the economic benefits is expected to be over 44.6 billion won ($36.2 million) annually with everyone’s active cooperation and participation.

 

Perception Changed, and People Empathize with Must-Be-Green Trend

Ministry of Environment conducted an online survey from May 27th to June 12th to understand better how people perceive the matter. 3,005 participants in total were asked how actively they were willing to participate in returning, if they had a preferable refund system and so on Surprisingly, 90.55% of the participants said they support the system. Comparing the figure of 56% in 2013, it shows people now recognize the importance of the environment and put more value in it. Furthermore, 45% of them think the deposit amount should be set over $0.25 and 6.25% of them voted for more than $1. This can be explained that people agree to reduce the use of the products and draw more participation with a higher amount of deposit.

This resource circulation deposit system can be found in other countries as well. Starbucks in the UK charge customers 5p as latte levy for using a disposable product and Freiburg city operates their own system, imposing 1 euro for deposit and lend a reusable cup. The Ireland government announced they are considering introducing the latte levy, charging up to 0.25 euro on using a disposable cup.

 

Significant Result Can be Obtained from Resource Recyclability!

The reintroduction of the deposit system shows the country’s firm will to reduce the use of disposable cups and to save the resource by efficient collecting and recycling. When food packaging including disposable cups, plates and trays is properly collected and recycled, it could become raw material of superior quality for recycled pulp. This is why they can be considered as high value-added products. However, most of these conventional food containers are lined with PE that they are hardly recycled, limiting the recyclability. In other words, high collecting rate doesn’t always lead to high rate of recycling.

Therefore, it is necessary to rearrange the collecting system and establish the right standards for a disposable cup, putting their recyclability into consideration so that they can be applied to the current recycling system. It is essential for every subject in a chain be aware of the importance of resource circulation and cooperate each other.

Microplastic, fine dust, and now the outbreak of zoonosis like COVID-19. As we experience how closely our life is connected to the environment, the eco-friendly policy should be thoroughly, yet promptly applied to every industry. And we believe the use of recyclable, yet economical   materials will be able to draw more valuable and effective outcome. we hope this new deposit system can lead a great start to change Korea to be more sustainable.

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