South Korea Recycles 97% of Its Food Waste. The Key: Either Pay to Recycle or Get Fined

People have been recycling for decades, yet controversy still surrounds the process. Studies have concluded that there’s a lack of understanding of how recycling works. As such, some still make mistakes when trying to sort materials into the correct containers. When it comes to plastics, the situation is even worse. Less than 10% of discarded plastic is recycled globally. The situation has spurred the creation of campaigns to incentivize proper recycling.

Recycling faces challenges in various areas, from plastics to food waste, which often end up in landfills and littering the streets. South Korea also encountered recycling problems, but the country now recycles 97% of its food waste. This achievement was made possible through the Pay as You Throw system and fines for non-compliance.

South Korea. A recent study indicates that approximately 30% of all waste in South Korea is food waste. However, citizens effectively separate and collect more than 90% of it. Jae-Cheol Jang, a professor at the Gyeongsang National University’s Institute of Agriculture and one of the study’s authors, told the BBC that “about 4.56 million tons of food waste is processed in South Korea annually. Of this amount, 4.44 million tons are recycled for other purposes, indicating a 97.5% recycling rate.”

Objective: avoiding landfills. South Korea now uses food waste for biogas production, animal feed, and fertilizer. However, this wasn’t always the case. In 1996, the country recycled only 2.6% of food waste. The 1980s brought about industrialization, urbanization, and gentrification. It also created a problem: How do you manage waste in a country with an average density of more than 1,378 people per square mile?

To address the issue, South Korea created landfills near major cities, which caused concerns due to odors and waste. As a result, South Korean authorities initiated a campaign to solve the landfill problem. This led to the passing of a law in 2005 that prohibited the disposal of food waste in landfills. The government took further action in 2013 by implementing the Pay as You Throw system for food waste.

Paying for recycling. Instead of getting paid to recycle, South Koreans have to pay a fee every time they throw away food or other waste. This is a challenge in a country where there’s a cultural tendency to waste food.

In South Korea, for example, there’s a culinary tradition called banchan, where a main course is served with many small side dishes with veggies, meat, and sauces. However, in the last few years, the government implemented a new policy: If you wasted food, you would get fined.

Three options. Citizens have three options for recycling and processing waste, which can vary depending on the region, district, and even between different apartment blocks in the same city.

Yuna Ku, a reporter for the BBC, explains the system:

• Authorized bags: These are yellow bags of about three liters that cost around ₩300 ($0.22). Some South Koreans use them for waste disposal. Once full, they place these bags on the street for collection by the municipal service. There are also 20-liter bags available, which cost just $1.5.
• Automated system: Building blocks have radio-frequency identification machines that weigh food waste. Users carry a steel container with their waste and place it in the machine. The machine automatically reads the code from the person’s residence card. This card contains household identification data and operates on a credit system. After the waste is weighed, the machine deposits it inside and collects the corresponding money. Ku mentions that using this system, she typically discards about $5 worth of waste per month.
• Stickers: This option is designed for restaurants. Businesses purchase pre-paid stickers and place them on garbage cans to indicate that they’ve already paid for waste collection. As previously mentioned, this method presents a challenge due to the nature of the banchan.

Fines. If you fail to comply with the waste disposal regulations, you must pay penalties. Ku mentions that most people in the country follow the rules, which is supported by data on improved recycling habits. However, those who don’t dispose of food waste properly may be fined. In residential buildings, security cameras monitor the disposal process. Fines can be around $70, depending on the frequency of the violation.

Restaurants are also monitored, and authorities may become suspicious if they observe insufficient waste disposal. In such cases, fines can go up to ₩10,000,000, which is about $7,400. Ku explains that Koreans generally adhere to the rules due to strong moral values and don’t consider the recycling fines high relative to the average salary.

Challenges: However, this poses some challenges. In South Korea, 49% of the waste is used to feed farm animals. If these remains aren’t properly processed, they can put the health of the animals at risk, which will later become food for the population. This has already had consequences, such as the outbreak of African swine fever in 2019, which put several farms in the country at risk and led the government to temporarily ban the feeding of rations made from food scraps.

Would this type of system be accepted in the rest of the world? This depends on the country. Rosa Rolle, an expert on food loss and waste at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, told the BBC that such habits would be appropriate to raise awareness among the population. However, she believes that in Latin American countries, for example, the emphasis should be on maximizing the use of food, minimizing waste, and donating what is left over.

Regardless of the approach, if similar measures are implemented, Rolle emphasizes that they must be based on solid data to understand where, why, and in what quantity loss and waste occurs. Solutions must be based on scientific evidence and be appropriate to the context. There’s no one-size-fits-all measure.

Image | Ella Olsson

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