One of Three Cafes in Seongdong-gu Recycles Coffee Grounds... Eunpyeong-gu Opens 'Maeum Geongang Simteo'

[Seoul District News] ‘Seongdong-type Coffee Grounds Recycling Project’ Attracts About One-Third Participation in Just Over 6 Months, Creating High Added Value Through Coffee Grounds in Recycled Plastics, Lighting, and Eco-friendly Energy... Mapo-gu Recruits ‘Our Neighborhood Care Group’ Where Neighbors Care for Neighbors... Eunpyeong-gu Opens Counseling Facility ‘Maeum Geongang Sim(心)teo’ Utilizing Apartment Idle Spaces

Coffee grounds collection scene

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) is making steady progress in its coffee grounds (coffee residue) recycling project, with about one-third of local coffee shops participating in just six months.

Seongdong-gu plans to continue leading the coffee grounds recycling project, especially as the Ministry of Environment recently recognized coffee grounds as a ‘circulating resource,’ increasing social interest and the need for such initiatives.

Seongdong-gu noted that although there have been various attempts to recycle coffee grounds, economic feasibility issues have limited sustainability. Since 2020, the district has been working through various public-private cooperation models to reduce the increasing amount of coffee grounds waste and establish a resource circulation system.

In particular, the district has focused on sustainability by planning to recycle coffee grounds using innovative technologies into recycled plastics and microbial batteries that light up, utilizing these materials for public facilities to benefit residents.

Accordingly, in July last year, Seongdong-gu signed a business agreement with the social cooperative ‘Jawon-gwa Sunhwan’ to establish Seoul’s first systematic coffee grounds collection system. In October of the same year, it partnered with the social venture ‘Poyen,’ which has technology to recycle coffee grounds into eco-friendly fuel, and Hyundai Oilbank to promote a project converting coffee grounds into eco-friendly biomass energy sources.

To ensure a steady supply of coffee grounds as raw material for eco-friendly energy, since October last year, Seongdong-gu has recruited coffee shops to participate in the ‘Seongdong-type Coffee Grounds Recycling Project,’ starting with well-known local coffee shops such as Daerim Warehouse, Blue Bottle, and Cafe Onion (in alphabetical order). As of March 2022, 150 shops have joined.

This accounts for about one-third of all coffee shops in Seongdong-gu. The background includes growing social awareness of environmental protection, incentives such as certificates for participating coffee shops and support for coffee grounds upcycling flowerpots, and Seongdong-gu’s efforts to improve accessibility for coffee shops through QR codes and Google Forms.

Based on these active efforts, the Seongdong-type coffee grounds recycling project has already been recognized as an ‘Excellent Waste Reduction and Recycling Project by Seoul Autonomous Districts’ and a ‘Government Innovation 1st Street Local Government Innovation Case.’ Furthermore, the district’s unique waste recycling resource circulation model based on this project was selected as an ‘Outstanding Resident-led Regional Balanced New Deal Project’ by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety at the end of last year.

Especially, on the 14th, the Ministry of Environment announced plans to simplify related requirements and procedures to recognize coffee grounds discharged as household waste as circulating resources. This is expected to further boost Seongdong-gu’s project, which has been promoting a sustainable coffee grounds resource circulation model through the production of high value-added coffee grounds recycled products (solid fuel, bioplastic, microbial batteries, etc.).

Seongdong-gu plans not only to increase the number of local coffee shops continuously participating in coffee grounds collection but also to expand the system to collect and recycle single-use items such as paper cups, plastic cups, and straws using the coffee grounds resource circulation model.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Seongdong-gu’s coffee grounds recycling project is a proactive and preemptive initiative by a local government responding to the 2025 ban on landfill acceptance of metropolitan area household waste and the 2050 carbon neutrality declaration under the UN Climate Change Convention. It is also a case where ‘ESG,’ recently used as a social discourse to seek a sustainable future, has been actively adopted in administration. We will continue to make active efforts to discover and implement such policies.”

Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) is recruiting 24 members for the ‘Our Neighborhood Care Team,’ a public-private initiative to help marginalized neighbors, until the 26th.

The district has been operating the ‘Our Neighborhood Care Team’ since last year, where local residents check on vulnerable households and directly discover welfare blind spots.

This year, the care target, previously limited to vulnerable groups and welfare blind spots, will be expanded to include middle-aged single-person households at risk of solitary death, and the care area will be extended to all neighborhoods.

The recruitment target for the ‘Our Neighborhood Care Team’ is adults aged 40 to 67 who either reside in Mapo-gu or have a business registration certificate listing a business address in Mapo-gu as a representative.

The care team’s activities include monitoring vulnerable households, discovering welfare blind spots, focusing on identifying and managing households at risk of solitary death, participating in regular education and autonomous meetings, and providing and linking information on public and private services to strengthen a continuous care system and realize universal welfare.

The work schedule is up to 4 hours a day, 3 days a week, with a monthly activity allowance of 220,000 KRW, accident insurance, education expenses, and other operational costs provided.

Applications can be submitted online via the Seoul 50 Plus Portal’s ‘Work & Participation+’ section; in-person or postal submissions are not accepted.

The district plans to review submitted documents this month, conduct interviews, and select final participants. Those selected will attend training hosted by the Seoul 50 Plus Foundation and then carry out activities for nine months from April to December.

For more details, visit the Mapo-gu Office website’s ‘Recruitment Announcements’ section or contact the Welfare Policy Division’s Hope Welfare Team at Mapo-gu Office.

A district official said, “We hope the Our Neighborhood Care Team will extend a helping hand to socially isolated households increased by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to expand various welfare projects involving both public and private sectors to ensure no residents are left behind.”

Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) opened the country’s first resident counseling facility ‘Mind Health Sim(心)ter’ on the 15th through a public-private-academic cooperative governance.

‘Mind Health Sim(心)ter’ is a resident counseling facility created by utilizing idle space within Bulgwang Lotte Castle Apartments (64 Bulgwang-ro). The Myongji University Community Child Culture Research Institute provides experts and programs for emotional and psychological support for infants, caregivers, and local residents, while the Eunpyeong-gu Childcare Comprehensive Support Center manages and operates the facility.

Starting at the end of March, counseling programs for apartment residents will begin. Play therapy and sand play therapy for infants with social development delays identified through developmental screening, and individual counseling for caregivers experiencing parenting stress and depression will be fully conducted from April.

Mind Health Sim(心)ter operates from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. For detailed usage information, contact Mind Health Sim(心)ter.

Mayor Kim Mi-kyung said, “It is highly valuable that public, private, and academic sectors have cooperated to create a space that supports the psychological and emotional needs of infants showing developmental delays, hyperactivity, impulsive behavior, and caregivers suffering from parenting stress and depression. We expect this to be an effective governance case and greatly contribute to building healthy families in Eunpyeong-gu.”

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