Shown here is a section of bottled mineral water at a retail outlet in Seoul on July 20, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — An increasing number of large companies in South Korea are collecting empty containers for their products from consumers as part of efforts to boost the recycling rate.
CJ Cheiljedang Corp., the country’s leading food manufacturer, launched a service to collect the empty containers of its cooked rice product Hetbahn last month.
If customers buy a set consisting of Hetbahn and a collection box through the company’s online mall and fill the box with more than 20 empty containers, the company will collect the used containers.
The number of Hetbahn packages sold together with a collection box during the past month totaled 260,000 units, accounting for about 40 percent of the total number of Hetbahn sold through the online mall.
Shinsegae International Inc., the fashion affiliate of retail giant Shinsegae, launched the collection of empty cosmetic bottles in collaboration with a local recycling company TerraCycle back in October last year.
Customers can visit Shinsegae stores to return the bottles or simply put them in front of their homes after collecting more than three bottles and filling out an online application.
The number of bottled water brands that are collecting empty mineral bottles is also on the rise.
Jeju Samdasoo, a brand of mineral water produced by Jeju Province Development Corp., established a collection program in May last year, followed by Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., which started collecting empty bottles of its “ICIS” bottled mineral water in Seoul and some Gyeonggi areas from August.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
