The Ministry of Environment (Minister Kim Wansup), Seoul City (Mayor Oh Se-hoon), Jung-gu (District Mayor Kim Kilsung), Jongno-gu (District Mayor Jung Moon-hun), and the Container Deposit System Management Organization (COSMO, Chairperson Jeong Bok-young) announced that they will implement a ‘Disposable Cup Collection Pilot Project’ (Pilot project) in the Eco Zone around Gwanghwamun and Namdaemun* from August 6 to December 31.

* As part of the comprehensive measures to reduce disposable plastics, Seoul City designated the area around Seoul City Hall and Gwanghwamun as an “Eco Zone” in November 2023.

The core of this Pilot project is to encourage consumers to prioritize the use of personal cups and reusable cups, while also collecting disposable paper cups and plastic cups (disposable cups) that are unavoidably used for takeout packaging, in order to expand recycling efforts.

Although disposable cups can be recycled into high-quality materials, a significant number of these cups are not properly separated and collected, and are instead disposed of in regular garbage bags. In order to find ways to improve this situation, the Ministry of Environment and Seoul City have decided to implement this Pilot project. 

The 42 coffee shops that voluntarily applied to participate in the Pilot project will receive disposable cups with special markings designed for performance analysis. Each store will have a collection bin for disposable cups installed. The collected disposable cups will be collected and transported by a specialized company, and will then be supplied to recycling facilities to be reused as materials for clothing fibers, tissue paper, and other products. Stores participating in the Pilot project will also receive support such as the installation of reusable cup washing machines and assistance with the separate disposal of coffee grounds and milk cartons. 

In addition, in conjunction with the Seoul City initiative to reinstall outdoor trash bins, 30 dedicated collection bins for disposable cups will be installed at street locations within the Eco Zone, including bus stops. Unmanned collection machines for disposable cups will be set up at the Seoul City Hall Seosomun Office and Jongno-gu Office.

In this Pilot project, the Ministry and Seoul City will oversee the entire operation, while the COSMO will be responsible for managing the project. The local governments of Jung-gu and Jongno-gu will handle the management of the street collection bins. 

Yoo Seung-kwang, Director General of Resource Circulation Bureau, stated, “While reducing the use of disposable cups is the priority, we hope there will be a widespread recognition that even the disposable cups that have already been used can be valuable recycling resources if collected properly.” He added, “We will continue to explore projects that make it easy and efficient to collect and recycle disposable cups.”

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

Contact person: Gina Lee, foreign media spokesperson

Phone: +82-44-201-6055

Email: gcjgina @gmail.com