Wasting Away

The Korean Food Waste System

Korea’s food disposal system can be a bit daunting for newcomers to the country. A mistake can lead to a firm scolding from neighbors and landlords or a bag of rotting food that never gets picked up by trash collectors.

In 1993, Korea implemented an urban food waste program in response to the substantial increase in waste in its rapidly growing and prosperous cities. Over the years, the program has been modified several times. According to Korea Times, garbage disposals in sinks were the original solution until 1995 when they were banned after shredded food habitually clogged drainage pipes. Now a volume-based payment system (similar to trash disposal) is in place. Residents can buy prepaid food waste bags or plastic food waste buckets. Barcodes are placed on the food waste bucket so that a bill can be sent to the registered resident’s address. Or the bucket’s barcode can be linked to a Hanpay card that is charged when the resident disposes of food waste. In some neighborhoods in Korea, apartments have installed food processing machines to compact and dry collected waste in order to reduce the size and weight of waste.

While the government campaign to reign in waste has been robust, problems remain. According to Asia Today, “between 2008 and 2012 the country’s food waste output increased by 3 percent annually” and in 2013 Koreans “generated 17,000 tons of waste per day…three times as much as Taiwan, although South Korea has only twice the population.” Also, illegal dumping of food waste remains a problem. Despite the threat of fines ranging from 100,000 to 1,000,000 won for illegal dumping, residents seeking to avoid weighted food waste costs dump food waste in undesignated trash bags or discard food waste in their neighbors’ food waste bags. These practices often lead to eyesores in neighborhoods with spoiled food waste spilling from bags rummaged by both animals and people. The Ministry of Environment has even considered lifting the ban on garbage disposals installed in sinks to remedy this issue.

Below is a helpful guide to foods that should not be included in your disposed waste. Like New Zealand, Japan and China, the majority of collected food waste in Korea is used to feed pigs, which has a lot to do with the reasoning behind the sorting rules.

Banned foods:

Fruits : seeds of peaches, apricots, persimmons, etc. as well as hard shells such as those of acorns, chestnuts, peanuts, walnuts, coconuts, pineapples, etc.
Meats: bones and feathers
Fish/Seafood: shells of clams, abalone, sea squirt, crabs, lobsters, etc.
Others: tea bags, herb medicine residues, etc.