South Korea is gearing up to reintroduce the deposit system for disposable cups as a way to prevent another recyclable waste crisis.
In its statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Environment announced that it “would prepare a comprehensive plan to reduce disposable materials and promote recycling and provide the legal base for the deposit system for disposable cups.”
With the deposit system, customers who return the used disposable cups will get the deposits back. The system had been shut down in March 2008 due to the lack of legal base and the question of transparency in the deposit management.
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(Yonhap) |
The ministry also seeks to toughen the regulation of plastic bag usage and reduce the amount of synthetic resin used in ramen noodle bowls.
The announcement included the measures toward “exaggerated packaging,” regarded as the main culprit for recyclable waste.
The ministry stated that it will establish an improvement plan for packaging and launch an investigation on the actual state of packaging by June.
An official said, “The Environment Ministry will announce a comprehensive plan which will touch on the issues discussed (today).”
By Ahn Sang-yool (
koolsangon@heraldcorp.com)
