Solving the food waste disposal issue in South Korea

Food waste is a double-edged sword. It increases food insecurity and significantly contributes to global climate change. Around 931 million tonnes of food is wasted every year and is linked with 6% of carbon emissions globally. In Asia, South Korea had a massive food waste problem, with the average South Korean generating around 130 kilograms of food waste annually. Piling waste eventually led to public protests against food waste disposal in landfills, and a ban was imposed in 2005 on food dumping.

South Korea took several steps, notably the 2005 ban on landfilling food waste, to raise awareness and take concrete action. Following the ban, a 2013 legislation introduced specific bins for food waste to be discharged in, using only biodegradable bags. However, these bags weren’t free of cost but based on a pay-as-you-waste scheme. This system cost an average South Korean family approximately $6 per month. South Korea’s capital city, Seoul, plans to use food waste to produce compost, feedstock for animals, and also support urban farming initiatives, which are currently subsidised by the city. In addition to this, South Korea made use of technology to alleviate the food waste problem with the help of food recycling. For example, in Seoul, 6,000 bins have been installed with instruments such as scales and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) that can weigh food waste as it is deposited and charge residents accordingly using an identification card. City officials say that RFID machines have helped reduce Seoul’s food waste by nearly 47,000 tonnes in six years.

The impact was tangible. Over a period of time, these measures helped increase food waste recycling to 95% in 2019 from less than 2% in 1995.