Gangbuk-gu, Ministry of Environment Collaborate on Cigarette Butt Collection and Recycling Project

Deriving Optimal Cigarette Butt Collection and Recycling System for Sustainable Management... On the 24th, Ministry of Environment, Distribution Support Center, and Others Sign Tripartite Business Agreement

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangbuk-gu (District Mayor Park Kyumsu) signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Circular Resource Distribution Support Center on the 24th to launch a pilot project for cigarette butt collection and recycling.

The goal of this agreement is to establish a sustainable "cigarette butt collection and recycling system." All processes from collecting butts to recycling will be tested to find the optimal procedure.

The Ministry of Environment plans to expand the cigarette butt management system nationwide based on the results of the pilot project, which ends in May next year.

First, Gangbuk-gu designated 13 community service centers as cigarette butt collection points. The collected butts will be sent to a local recycling sorting facility. The Distribution Support Center is responsible for supporting private companies participating in transportation, sorting, and recycling. The Ministry of Environment will establish the institutional foundation and support the implementation of agreements by each organization.

The collection process will utilize the "Cigarette Butt Collection Reward System" that Gangbuk-gu has been actively promoting since March. The "Cigarette Butt Collection Reward System" is a type of resident participation project with high public response. In just five months (as of August 31), 518 people participated, collecting 3 million won worth and over 5,000 cigarette butts.

Any resident aged 20 or older can bring cigarette butts discarded on the street and receive a reward based on their weight.

The payment standard is 20 won per gram, up to a maximum of 60,000 won per month. If the minimum weight for payment, 200g (equivalent to 400 cigarette butts), is exceeded, 2,000 won is paid.

Applications can be made at the community service centers every Wednesday and Thursday. Pre-education is mandatory before participating in the project.

Until now, cigarette butts were classified as other household waste and incinerated.

In this pilot project, the collected butts will have their filters, paper, and tobacco recycled. The filter part can be remanufactured into plastic products. The rest can be used for energy recovery by reusing the remaining heat.

Park Kyumsu, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, "To recycle cigarette butts, the collection stage must be properly established," and added, "We will do our utmost to establish a standard system for cigarette butt collection and recycling."

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