Environmental Networking Platform for Children and Youth by SAMSUNG E&A
Stay connected with Eco-generation :
| Share 
| 
- Home >
- Our Actions >
- Ambassador report
2
Comments
[Theme topic] South Korea Food waste management |
|---|
|
by Seyi Jang | 27-10-2021 10:52
|
|
Asia produces around 50% of world food waste, the number estimated to rise as the continent is getting richer. South Korea is one of the many countries which have a huge amount of food waste, mainly because of the traditional side dish, banchan, which are accompanied by every meal and are often left unfinished. Compared to food waste per capita in US and Europe which is around 95 to 115 kg a year, South Koreans each produces more than 130 kg in a year according to 2019 data. South Korea managed to deal with the massive amount of food waste successfully, now recycling 95% of its food waste, starting from 2% in 1995. Today, I want to share some systems South Korea used to tackle the food waste problem. In 2013, South Korean government implemented mandatory food waste recycling using biodegradable bags. Also called as the pay-as-you-throw system, an average 4-person family has to pay around $6 a month for throwing away food waste. This fee will make up 60% of the whole cost of recycling the food waste into fertilizer. As you have to pay for throwing away food waste, this system encouraged households to start home composting or even reducing the food waste itself. South Korea also used technology like smart bin to solve the issue. Smart bins, equipped with scales and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), weigh food waste and charge residents using an ID card. As you can pay less when the food waste weigh less, residents started to remove the moisture of the food waste as 80% of the weight of food waste comes from moisture. With this method, the authority saved 8.4 million dollars in collection charges. Currently, there are over 6000 smart bins all over Seoul, the capital of S.Korea. By using the two methods mentioned above, South Korea was able to recycle nearly all food waste into fertilizer which is later used to support the urban farms. Urban farms cut down the greenhouse gas emissions made by transportation. However, we still have a long way to go. The Seoul’s food waste processing centers claimed that a large amounts of fertilizer are left unused due to the increasing food waste. In order to solve the problem fundamentally, we have to change the way we produce and consume food. Producing less amount of banchan we put on our table can be a small step toward the low waste goal. https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/asian-example-heres-how-south-korea-is-recycling-95-of-its-food-waste/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/south-korea-recycling-food-waste/
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous : (Free Topic) Rare Species in L...
2 Comments
Hello Seyi, this is your mentor Hannah.
Sorry for the late comment.
Sympathized with your article, it reminded of food waste after school meal.
I personally think that introduction of smart bins is a great idea, and that it would be great if other countries apply it as well.
Thank you for your great article and please keep up with your wonderful work :)
Posted 15-11-2021 23:19
Hello Seyi, this is your mentor Joon.
This is quite familiar to me as I always use it every week. Before, it was just like a Bin
which was easily approachable, but did not have any separation system between mediums.
Now, they have separate chamber to weigh the amount of waste, and separate it to different
space so it does not smell as bad as before. Also, the original system was to share the amount of processing fee if a family was living in an apartment no matter how much they
throw away. With RFID tracking, we can now pay what we have thrown away without extra
charge, so it feels quite reasonable. Hope more of this amalgamative approach between
such issues and technology is made.
Well read your article, and let's keep up!
Best,
Joon
Posted 28-10-2021 15:45