Press Release

Board View

Government to charge KRW 300 deposit per disposable cup starting from June 10 of this year

Sejong, January 24 - From June 10 of this year, the Korean government will implement a deposit system for drinks sold in disposable cups in cafes and fast-food restaurants. Under the plan, people will have to pay a deposit of 300 KRW per disposable cup. 


On January 25, the Ministry of Environment (ME, Minister Han Jeong Ae) made a 40-day legislative notice of amendments to the three sub-statutes* in the field of closed-loop recycling, including the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources, containing measures mentioned above.

* ①② Enforcement Decree and Regulations of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources, ③ Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal


The revision of the aforementioned sub-statutes aims to reduce waste and their recyclability, and the key contents include:

- The implementation of a deposit system for disposable cups.

- Restrictions on the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) packaging materials.

- Restrictions on disposable wipes.

- Expansion of paper cartons recycling.


Firstly, the disposable cup deposit system, which will be in effect from June 10 this year, will be imposed onto 38,000 stores nationwide. The plan will be applied to stores with more than 100 branches nationwide. The stores include cafes (Ediya, Starbucks, Twosome Place), confectionery and bakeries (Dunkin', Paris Baguette, Tous Les Jours), fast food restaurants (Lotteria, Mom's Touch, McDonald's, Burger King), ice cream and shaved ice stores (Baskin Robbins, Sulbing), and other beverage stores (Gongcha, Smoothie King, Juicy).


Disposable cups subject to the scheme are mainly plastic cups for cold drinks and paper cups for hot beverages. The deposit will be exempted to reusable plastic cups or mugs collected and washed after use. 2.8 billion cups per year (56 per person) are used by franchisors and franchisees across the country that sell beverages using disposable cups, of which 2.3 billion are assumed to be used in stores subject to the deposit system.


Consumers will pay a deposit when purchasing beverages in disposable cups. They can get their deposit back when they return the cups to the store or another store. Consumers can, at any time, claim their deposit at any stores that are subject to the deposit system. Consumers can get their deposits back even when they pick up a disposable cup on the street and return it to the store. The deposit is paid either by bank transfer or cash. In the case of bank transfer, money is transferred to one's account via a mobile app after a few minutes to up to an hour through computerized processing among the store, the deposit system, and the financial institution. For cash payment, the consumer can directly claim the money from the store.


When someone submits a cup to a store, a barcode reader (point of sale system) recognizes the cup's barcode for deposit payout. In other words, already-submitted cups are not subject to deposit payment, so duplicate claims are not allowed. The cups subject to the scheme will have an anti-counterfeit and tamper sticker printed by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation*.

* The anti-counterfeit and temper stickers are separated and detached from cups during washing/shredding (for plastic cups) or dissociation (for paper cups) after the cups are sent to recycling companies.


The Ministry set the deposit amount at KRW 300, considering that the discount amount of using tumblers at major franchises is around KRW 300. Because the deposit system enables consumers to return cups at any branch, even if they are taken from different franchise stores, the ME plans to designate the standard specification* to ensure convenience in storage and transportation.

* (Plastic cups) bottom diameter of at least 48 mm, top diameter of at least 90 mm, height of at least 102 mm

(Paper cups) The bottom diameter of at least 52 mm, top diameter of at least 80 mm, height of at least 95 mm


The main material for plastic cups should be polyethylene terephthalate (or PET-A), colorless and transparent. It is prohibited to print on the surface so that the cup can be recycled in high quality. Inner coating for paper cups is permitted at a level that does not cause any recycling issue to paper companies, and surface printing should be minimized.


To ensure the proper and appropriate recycling of cups recovered from stores, the ME will designate at least three to five waste collection companies and one or two recycling companies for each region. Each store can autonomously select from the designated collection companies and hand over the retrieved cups to the recycling companies.


PVC packaging materials, widely used as wraps for livestock and seafood packaging in supermarkets, will be banned from 2024. Since the early 2000s, polyethylene has been mainly used for food plastic wraps instead of PVC, but PVC wraps are still used in supermarkets. PVC causes various problems-it generates toxic chemicals like hydrogen chloride during recycling and shortens the life of recycling machines by causing corrosion. As seen from such issues, the ME plans to ban the use of PVC, except for some items* that may cause problems in the function of packaging materials if mixed with other materials, such as compression packaging for pharmaceuticals.

* ① Packaging materials for ham and sausages for distribution and sale at room temperature; ② Compression packaging for pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, and health functional foods; ③ Shrink packaging of livestock products that require refrigeration, and; ④ In case when PVC is used inside a metal stopper detachable from the product. More plans include encouraging businesses to replace PVC with other materials, such as polyolefins with high recyclability and having similar performance to PVC.


As for future measures, restaurants will be obligated to use sanitary wipes or plastic-free wipes instead of disposable wipes containing plastic. As disposable wipes, widely used in restaurants, are synthetic fibers made up of 40 to 50% plastic, they are difficult to recycle and take a long time to decompose. In response, the ME plans to add plastic-included disposable wipes (including wipes moistened with water) as disposable items subject to regulation and ban their use in foodservice businesses, such as restaurants and cafes. Wet wipes used at homes are not subject to the law.

※ The enforcement date is one year after the revision and promulgation of the Enforcement Decree and Regulations of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources.


Replacing plastic-containing disposable wipes with sanitary or plastic-free wipes is expected to reduce 288,000 tons of plastic wipes annually in foodservice businesses alone. With 262 domestic sanitary towel manufacturers and 265 washing/disinfecting companies operating in Korea, no forecast is in the supply of clean towels as substitutes.

※ Usage and company status in 2019, Food and Drug Statistical Yearbook



The ME decided to establish a more stable carton recycling system by inducing the formation of an appropriate unit price for each carton type. Although the use of aseptic packages has continued to increase* with the spread of contactless consumption since the outbreak of COVID-19, there are challenges in recycling as no unit price corresponding to the high recycling cost was set.

* 17,000 tons in 2014 (25% of total cartons) → 27,000 tons (41%) in 2020, 47,000 tons (63%) expected by 2030.

As a response, the ME, reflecting the actual cost, has set the standard recycling cost-KRW 185/kg at present-by carbon type to be implemented starting 2023: KRW 519/kg and KRW 279/kg for general packages and aseptic packages, respectively.


Meanwhile, the ME has been making efforts to increase the recycling rate of cartons* since December last year. The Ministry has implemented a "carton separation and recycling pilot project" targeting about 60,000 apartment residents in Namyangju, Bucheon, Hwaseong, and Sejong.



Contact: KANG Ji Yeon, Deputy Director

Resource Circulation Policy Division, ME

044-201-7349