Seocho-gu Extends Free Food Waste Collection for Small Restaurants Until June

Originally extended from the end of March to the end of June, free food waste collection support for small restaurants (under 200㎡)... Average benefit of 310,000 KRW per business

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seocho-gu (Mayor Eunhee Jo) will extend the free collection of food waste from small restaurants until the end of June.

Since May of last year, the district has been providing free food waste collection services to about 7,500 small restaurants within Seocho-gu to ease the business burden on small business owners struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the free collection was originally scheduled to end at the end of March, the district decided to extend the free collection period until the end of June to continue supporting small business owners facing difficulties due to prolonged social distancing measures such as restricted business hours caused by COVID-19.

Until the end of June, general and casual restaurants under 200㎡ can dispose of food waste by placing it in designated containers without a payment certificate.

The Seocho-gu Merchants Association welcomed the news of the extension, saying, "This is a tangible help that small business owners appreciate greatly, and it has been a significant aid in running their stores," expressing their gratitude.

Meanwhile, the district is supporting the installation cost of table partitions inside restaurants, up to 500,000 KRW per restaurant, for general restaurants, casual restaurants, and bakeries in the area.

Applications were accepted in January, and support is provided on a first-come, first-served basis within a total budget limit of 50 million KRW. So far, partitions have been installed in 30 establishments.

An additional 87 establishments are expected to have partitions installed within this month.

Seocho-gu Mayor Eunhee Jo stated, "With this extension of free collection, about 7,500 small restaurants in the district will receive a total reduction of 2.34 billion KRW in food waste disposal fees, averaging about 310,000 KRW per establishment," adding, "We will continue to actively prepare proactive support policies to alleviate the damage suffered by small business owners and residents struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic."

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