Seoul City Recruits 25 Schools for 'Zero Campus' Program... Waste Reduction on Campus

Creating an Eco-Friendly Campus by Using Reusable Cups Instead of Disposable Ones and Packaging Food for Delivery in Reusable Containers

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 28th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will recruit 25 universities to participate in the ‘Zero Campus’ project, where universities and students take the lead in reducing waste on campus to address the increasing problem of disposable waste due to the spread of non-face-to-face consumption.

In February, Seoul proposed to some universities in the Seoul area to create a ‘Zero Waste Campus’ together by practicing an eco-friendly consumption culture, such as banning the use and campus entry of disposable cups and delivery containers.

In the first phase, Sogang University, Seoul Women’s University, and Hanyang Women’s University expressed their intention to participate, and Seoul conducted ‘Monitoring of University Waste Emission Status and Recycling Processing Conditions’ and the ‘2022 Seoul Zero Waste Campus MZ Forum’ with the three universities. As a result of investigating the waste emission status and processing conditions of major universities in Seoul for one month from March in cooperation with the universities participating in the first phase, it was found that 30% to 67% of recyclable resources such as disposable plastics were mixed in the general waste emitted.

Recyclables mixed with general waste are mostly incinerated because they are contaminated with food or difficult to separate and sort. Incinerating recyclable resources not only increases carbon emissions but also raises the universities’ waste disposal costs. Depending on characteristics such as the form of separate collection and the installation of transfer stations on campus, the waste disposal cost per ton for each university ranges from 210,000 to 360,000 KRW, with universities bearing annual waste disposal costs of 72 million to 580 million KRW.

Furthermore, it was found that separating recyclables by type is more efficient for collection than simple separate disposal, and the campus location with the highest rate of mixed recyclable disposal is dormitories. The mixed disposal rates by location were 57% in dormitories, 50% in lecture buildings, 47% in research buildings, and 38% in administrative buildings.

Meanwhile, discussions are also active on the need for universities and students themselves to reduce waste on campus. At the ‘2022 Seoul Zero Waste Campus MZ Forum’ held at DDP on the 26th of last month, 330 students announced a ‘Zero Waste Campus Action Declaration’ without disposable items and pledged their determination to achieve ‘Carbon Neutral City Seoul.’

At the MZ Forum, students presented on five topics necessary for a zero waste campus, including separate disposal and resource circulation, and organized the opinions derived from discussions to propose them to Seoul City. The city reflected the proposals of the MZ generation and decided to establish ‘Zero Campus’ at 25 universities this year. Additionally, the city plans to link this with the ‘Zero Waste Seoul Project’ by installing unmanned collection machines for reusable cups and collection machines for packaging and delivery containers in campus cafes and restaurants, piloting waste separation bins on campus, and considering support for environmental club activity expenses.

Universities wishing to participate in ‘Zero Campus’ can submit an application to Seoul City by May 23. The city plans to comprehensively review the waste emission status and regional characteristics of the applying schools and select the final 25 universities.

Yoo Yeon-sik, Head of the Climate and Environment Headquarters of Seoul City, said, "The success of the Zero Waste Seoul Project, Seoul’s waste reduction policy, depends on the activation of Zero Campus," adding, "We expect Zero Campus to become the center of spreading a zero waste consumption culture."

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