Return Single-Use Cups and Get 300 Won Back...Implemented from June This Year

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Starting June 10, returning single-use cups with recycling labels to stores where the deposit system is applied will earn a refund of 300 won.

The Ministry of Environment announced on the 24th that it will hold an administrative notice from the 25th of this month to July 17th on the revision and establishment of detailed regulations delegated by law for the implementation of the single-use cup deposit system.

The single-use cup deposit system was introduced in June 2020 by amending the "Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources (Resource Recycling Act)" to address the issue of recyclable single-use cups being discarded as waste without being collected. The enforcement date is June 10.

After the law takes effect, consumers will receive 300 won when they return single-use cups with recycling labels to stores where the deposit system applies. A total of 79 businesses and 105 brands, including coffee, beverage, and bakery sectors, will be subject to the deposit system according to the standards of the higher law.

The processing support fee paid by deposit-subject businesses to collection and transportation operators is set at 4 won per cup for standard containers that are easy to recycle, and 10 won per cup for non-standard containers. The support fee considers labor costs, fuel costs, and rental fees necessary for the collection, transportation, and storage of single-use cups.

The refund phrase and recycling mark applied to single-use cups subject to the deposit system include a barcode on each cup to identify whether the deposit is refundable. The label attachment method was chosen to easily display identification information on any cup.

The specifications consider that cups purchased at different franchise stores can be returned interchangeably, so the cups are designed to be stackable, reflecting the shape of single-use cups mainly used at beverage specialty stores. The materials are divided into PET and paper, and printing is either not done or minimized to facilitate easy recycling. Additionally, guidelines containing detailed information on reporting businesses that do not pay deposits and on reward payments for such reports are being prepared.

The Ministry of Environment, together with the Resource Circulation Deposit Management Center, is holding regional briefings on the single-use cup deposit system for deposit-subject businesses and stores, collection and transportation operators, and citizens.

Hong Dong-gon, Director of the Resource Circulation Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, said, “To ensure the smooth implementation of the single-use cup deposit system, we plan to gather various opinions from beverage sales stores such as coffee shops and consumers, while also strengthening promotional efforts.”

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