[Theme topic] South Korea Food waste managementby Seyi Jang | 27-10-2021 10:52 |
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 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/
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