South Korea’s Ban on Food Waste
It is estimated that worldwide some 1.4 billion tons of food are thrown away each and end up in landfills. But in South Korea, food scraps have been banned from landfills since 2005. The ban means that 90 percent of discarded food is kept out of incinerators or landfills and that 98 percent of food waste is recycled. Local restaurants and apartment building residents are issued special stickers or cards that track the food waste that they dispose of in designated bins. Food waste is a major contributor to climate change, especially because of the methane produced when the food deteriorates, but also the energy and resources involved in the waste production and transportation. Local governments in South Korea have built about 300 processing facilities, resulting in 15,000 tons of daily food waste turned into biofuel, purified into potable water, or a feed supplement for chickens and ducks. Governments around the world have toured the South Korean facilities. One of those governments is the city of New York, which by Fall 2023 planned to require all residents to separate food waste from other trash.
Sources: John Yoon, “How South Korea Puts Its Food Scraps to Good Use,” New York Times, June 14, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/world/asia/south-korea-food-waste.html#:~:text=At%20the%20biogas%20facility%20in,of%20methane%20and%20carbon%20dioxide. (accessed June 14, 2023). Andrew Jeong and Julie Yoon, “South Korea Recycles 98% of Its Food Waste. What Can It Teach the World?” Washington Post, August 9, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/08/09/south-korea-food-waste-composting/ (accessed August 9, 2024).
