Seoul City Establishes System to Recycle 145 Tons of Coffee Grounds Daily... Utilized as Bioenergy Sources and More

Coffee Grounds Separate Disposal → Autonomous District Collection → Recycling Companies' Stable Recycling... Business Operator Recruitment
High Calorific Value Enables Various Recycling Such as Biofuel, Livestock Farm Compost & Feed, Eco-friendly Building Materials

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 16th that it will establish a stable system to recycle the 145 tons of coffee grounds generated daily from coffee shops in Seoul. The plan aims to resolve the issue of household waste caused by increased coffee consumption and to recycle coffee grounds for various uses such as bioenergy sources and compost.

There are a total of 13,516 coffee shops in Seoul, accounting for one out of every five coffee shops nationwide. Due to the increase in coffee shops and the preference for premium coffee, domestic coffee imports reached a record high of 176,648 tons in 2020. In particular, Seoul is a city with a high concentration of coffee shops and heavy coffee consumption.

Coffee grounds have a high calorific value and can be used as biofuel, as well as recycled for various purposes such as compost and feed for livestock farms, eco-friendly building materials, and substrates for mushroom cultivation. Nevertheless, it is difficult to collect coffee grounds separately, and due to insufficient recycling demand, most are incinerated or landfilled. The resulting household waste amounts to up to 53,000 tons annually. The costs are also burdensome. Coffee shops bear the cost of volume-based waste bags, while autonomous districts bear the incineration and landfill costs.

Seoul City plans to build a system that encourages coffee shops to separate and dispose of coffee grounds by providing incentives such as certification marks, collects them through autonomous districts, and supplies the coffee grounds stably to recycling companies for reuse.

Seoul City expects that once the coffee grounds recycling system is established, it will not only reduce household waste and protect the environment but also cut greenhouse gas emissions from incineration and landfill by up to 48,000 tons annually. Additionally, participating stores can reduce their volume-based waste bag costs. Linking the collection of coffee grounds with self-support centers in each autonomous district is also expected to create jobs for vulnerable groups.

Seoul City is recruiting businesses to participate in coffee grounds recycling. Eligible participants include dairy and livestock farms, compost manufacturers, thermal power plants, and combined heat and power facilities. Interested parties can check the announcement titled 'Recruitment of Participants for Coffee Grounds Recycling Activation' on the Seoul City website and apply.

Furthermore, Seoul City plans to propose institutional improvements to the government for the stable collection and recycling of coffee grounds. Yoo Yeon-sik, Head of the Climate and Environment Headquarters of Seoul City, said, “Seoul’s coffee grounds recycling project has the quadruple effect of protecting the environment by recycling coffee grounds for various uses, reducing social costs such as landfill and incineration, lowering volume-based waste bag costs for participating stores, and creating new jobs for vulnerable groups. We will promote this so that coffee shops throughout Seoul can participate.”

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