"Less Painful Earth Welcome"... Have You Tried Separating and Recycling 'Muraebel Water Bottles'?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Recently, a wave of 'no-label' beverages has swept through the domestic beverage market as products without attached labels have been launched one after another, stirring up the distribution industry. As companies accelerate their 'ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management' emphasizing eco-friendliness and sustainability, consumers have responded with welcoming reactions.

According to the food and beverage industry on the 30th, companies such as Korea Coca-Cola, Lotte Chilsung Beverage, and CJ CheilJedang are speeding up the launch of 'no-label' products by removing labels from their products. On the 28th, Coca-Cola introduced 'Seagram Label-Free,' the first carbonated beverage in Korea to remove the label. Instead of a label, the logo is embossed directly onto the plastic bottle.

Earlier, Lotte Chilsung Beverage opened the door to 'no-label water' by launching 'Icis 8.0 ECO' 1.5ℓ in January last year, becoming the first domestic bottled water manufacturer to do so. CJ CheilJedang also replaced the packaging of 'Baeksul cooking oil' with a transparent container in May last year.

Additionally, distribution companies such as Lotte Mart and CU are releasing eco-friendly products, including 'no-label water,' under their private brands (PB), making it unlikely to see plastic labels on bottled water containers in the future.

The 'no-label' policy sweeping the distribution industry is a response to the Ministry of Environment's 'Guidelines on Separate Collection of Recyclable Resources,' which came into effect on December 25 last year. According to these guidelines, transparent PET bottles used for bottled water must be disposed of separately in designated bins, with labels removed, bottles crushed, and caps closed before disposal. In other words, the Ministry of Environment's policy requires consumers to separate and dispose of plastic labels separately, which is inconvenient, so companies have eliminated plastic labels altogether.

Experts predict that 'no-label water' will have positive ripple effects not only for consumers but also for companies and the environment. Professor Bae Jae-geun of the Department of Environmental Engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology stated, "No-label PET bottles do not require processes like shredding to remove labels, making recycling easier, and it also prevents contamination from labels that lowers recycling quality." A representative from an environmental organization also said, "We have been advocating for the no-label movement for quite some time, so it's fortunate that it is being implemented now," adding, "I hope other companies will join soon."

The sale of no-label water is part of the recently highlighted 'ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management.' Companies handling consumer goods closely related to daily life, such as distribution companies, are focusing on eco-friendly management for a sustainable future and are making efforts toward social responsibility.

Most of the collected waste is either landfilled or incinerated due to inadequate recycling. Although the collection rate of PET bottles in South Korea exceeds 80%, high-quality recycling accounts for only about 10%, leading to the import of waste PET bottles from countries like Japan.
[Image source = Yonhap News]

Consumers' reactions are generally positive. While some concerns have been raised about whether the price of bottled water might increase due to it being an essential item, online comments mostly welcomed the trend, saying, "It's great that no-label water is increasing," and "It was difficult to separate labels before, but now it's easier and produces less waste."

In fact, consumers have long voiced complaints such as, "Why is the hassle of separating labels put solely on consumers?" The labels, which are curved and tightly adhered to PET bottles, are hard to peel off by hand, and even when removed, sticky adhesive residue remains. Ms. Lee, a housewife in her 50s, expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "No-label bottles have less advertising effect, so haven't bottled water companies been reluctant to give up easily recognizable labels and have shifted the responsibility entirely onto consumers?"

No-label water bottles do not have the labels or brand names printed on the product as before. Essential product information such as volume, source, and mineral content is printed on the cap's sealing label, so consumers can separate and recycle the cap label before drinking the water.

Since there is no need to remove labels when recycling PET bottles, the recycling rate of waste PET bottles can be dramatically increased. The number of PET bottles landfilled or incinerated due to contamination or mixing will also decrease. According to the Ministry of Environment, although about 300,000 tons of waste PET bottles were produced domestically in 2018, an additional 22,000 tons of waste PET bottles were imported due to difficulties in recycling caused by labels not being removed from collected bottles.

The Ministry of Environment expects that if all drinking water containers (PET bottles) are replaced and produced without labels according to the new standards, up to 2,460 tons of plastic waste could be reduced annually. After a grace period mixing existing production methods with the improved system, the Ministry plans to consider allowing only 'no-label' products for small-packaged items in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.