Seongnam City Significantly Increases Citizen Compensation for Seongnam Resource Circulation Stores

Five Plastic and Vinyl Items
Colored PET Bottles 200 Won per kg, Vinyl 50 Won, etc.
737 Tons of Recyclables Collected Over Six Years

Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Shin Sang-jin) announced on the 19th that it has increased the citizen compensation for five plastic and vinyl items at the ‘Seongnam Resource Circulation Store’.

Citizens are sorting recyclables at the Resource Circulation Store located in Yatap-dong, Seongnam-si. Provided by Seongnam-si

The Seongnam Resource Circulation Store is the first system in the country where citizens can bring recyclable materials that have been emptied, rinsed, and sorted cleanly, and receive points that can be used like cash based on the weight of each item. The collected recyclables are 100% recycled, contributing to the activation of a circular economy society.

The items for which the compensation per 1kg has been increased are: △clear PET bottles (530 won, increased by 30 won) △colored PET bottles (PET, 200 won, increased by 90 won) △white plastic containers such as milk cartons and gum containers (PE, 400 won, increased by 50 won) △delivery food packaging containers such as for porridge (PP, 400 won, increased by 50 won) △vinyl items (50 won, increased by 40 won), totaling five items.

The city decided to raise the compensation for plastics and vinyl, which have high discharge volumes and significant environmental benefits in resource circulation. However, the compensation for the remaining four items △yogurt containers (PS, 250 won) △mixed plastics such as ketchup and mayonnaise containers (OTHER, 110 won) △aluminum cans (600 won) △steel cans (100 won) will remain the same as before.

Currently, a total of 21 Seongnam Resource Circulation Stores are in operation, and thanks to strong citizen response, two more locations will be added this year.

To use the Resource Circulation Store, install the Seongnam Resource Circulation Store app, check the operating days and hours of each location on the Seongnam City Resource Circulation Integrated Platform, and then visit.

Since its first operation in June 2019 until February this year, approximately 737 tons of recyclables have been discharged through the Seongnam Resource Circulation Store. This has resulted in a greenhouse gas reduction effect equivalent to planting 7,877 30-year-old pine trees. The total compensation paid to citizens so far amounts to about 185 million won.

A Seongnam City official stated, “Seongnam City plans to continue expanding operation bases as a city leading resource circulation,” and added, “We ask for citizens’ active use of the Seongnam Resource Circulation Store to practice resource circulation and for much interest and participation so that waste can be reused as valuable resources.”

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