Why Jung Won-oh, Seongdong-gu Mayor, Accelerated the Coffee Grounds Recycling Project?

On the 21st, signed a business agreement on 'Resources and Circulation,' Seoul's first systematic collection of coffee grounds... Secured economic feasibility for projects recycling coffee grounds into recycled plastic, recycled wood, microbial batteries, and more

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu (right), took a commemorative photo with the representative of 'Jawon and Sunhwan' who participated in the business agreement on the 21st.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, is gaining attention for actively promoting a coffee grounds (geopibak) recycling project.

Seongdong-gu, which is advancing a coffee grounds (hereafter referred to as coffee bak) recycling project through innovative technology, signed an agreement on the 21st with the local social cooperative "Jawon and Sunhwan" (Resources and Circulation).

Through this agreement, Seongdong-gu has become the first in Seoul to enable easy and convenient collection of coffee bak discarded at local coffee shops through specialized companies.

With the recent increase in coffee demand and expanded coffee bean consumption, the amount of coffee bak, which accounts for only 0.2% of coffee extraction, has also increased, reaching about 150,000 tons annually as of 2019.

Due to its high carbon content and high calorific value per unit, coffee bak has unlimited potential as a renewable energy source; however, it has been economically unfeasible to recycle and lacked a separate collection system, resulting in landfill disposal or being discarded as waste.

Accordingly, in April, the district signed a business agreement with companies possessing advanced coffee bak recycling technology (local social ventures Poin and Impact Square) to promote the "Seongdong-type coffee bak recycling project," securing the economic feasibility of recycling coffee bak into recycled plastics, recycled wood, microbial batteries, and other resources.

The social cooperative "Jawon and Sunhwan," composed of eight companies including Poin with technological capabilities, implemented a coffee bak collection method using information and communication technology (ICT). Sensors attached to collection bins monitor coffee bak generation status, and collection is conducted on agreed days and times to improve efficiency.

The district has already confirmed participation from well-known local coffee shops such as Daerim Warehouse, Blue Bottle, and Cafe Onion (in alphabetical order) and plans to continuously encourage participation from about 500 coffee shops in the area to ensure smooth collection.

Seongdong, which launched a seven-year plan last month to reduce household waste by 50%, is building a "resource circulation model" for coffee bak with high technology and a specialized collection system. Following the ESG values that have become a new paradigm for local governments, the district plans to continue concrete and practical actions to become a "sustainable Seongdong."

Lee Man-jae, CEO of the social cooperative Jawon and Sunhwan, said, "Unlike overseas, especially Europe, a coffee bak recycling system has not been established domestically, so despite coffee bak being an excellent renewable resource, there have been many difficulties in recycling it. The coffee bak resource circulation model pioneered by Seongdong-gu will play a significant stepping stone role in recycling coffee bak into various recycled products and bioenergy."

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, stated, "Seongdong-gu's coffee bak recycling project goes beyond simply reducing byproducts and waste emissions; it is a proactive effort to recycle these resources. This project aims to ensure that all coffee bak produced within Seongdong-gu will be recycled in the future."

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