A Street Disposable Cup Collection Bin Turned Burden... "I Don't Know Why It Was Made"

by Shim Seongah

Published 03 Sep.2024 07:04(KST)

Updated 03 Sep.2024 12:46(KST)

Thrown into the Collection Box with Drinks Inside
Cleaning Staff Call It "Inefficient Administration"

"There is a recycling bin next to the trash can, so I don't really understand why they made a separate disposable cup collection bin."

On the afternoon of the 2nd, Kim Do-yeon (27), whom we met at a bus stop near Jonggak Station in Jongno-gu, Seoul, criticized, "I doubt how much installing disposable cup collection bins will help the environment." Lee (52) said, "If there is leftover beverage, you can't just pour it on the street, and it seems difficult to separate and dispose of only the cups."


Disposable cup collection bins installed in the Jongno-gu and Jung-gu areas of Seoul. Although there is a notice that says, "Please separate lids, straws, and other accessories for recycling," most of the cups in the bins were discarded without separation. <br>[Photo by Shim Seong-a]

Disposable cup collection bins installed in the Jongno-gu and Jung-gu areas of Seoul. Although there is a notice that says, "Please separate lids, straws, and other accessories for recycling," most of the cups in the bins were discarded without separation.
[Photo by Shim Seong-a]

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Currently, there are 20 disposable cup collection bins installed in the Gwanghwamun~Namdaemun area 'Eco Zone' in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and 10 in Jung-gu. This project is being promoted as a pilot project by the Ministry of Environment and Seoul City to improve the situation where disposable cups are indiscriminately disposed of in volume-based waste bags without being separated and collected. However, on site, there were no citizens found separating and disposing of disposable cups as instructed on the collection bins.


The difficulties faced by the staff collecting disposable cups are also considerable. An official managing the collection bins installed in Jongno-gu complained, "The sizes of disposable cups vary, so they don't stack neatly, and when smaller cups go to the bottom, larger cups are placed on top, causing the bin to fill up quickly. Many citizens throw away cups without emptying the beverage, so the surroundings get dirty quickly," adding, "Even though we clean diligently three times a day, complaints keep coming in, making it difficult."


Hong Soo-yeol, director of the Resource Circulation Social Economy Research Institute, pointed out, "I doubt whether installing disposable cup collection bins will actually reduce plastic use," and said, "If there is no plan to implement the previously proposed 'disposable cup deposit system,' the projects currently being sporadically implemented are just 'projects for the sake of projects' with unclear objectives. Since the purpose has lost direction, I think further budget waste should be prevented and the projects should be reorganized."

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