Workers at a coffee house in central Seoul arrange reusable cups on March 31, 2022, one day ahead of the activation of a regulation banning the use of disposable items inside cafes and restaurants. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea said Wednesday that disposable cups offered at cafes in government buildings will be phased out.
The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that coffee chain restaurants in the nation’s 13 government buildings will be required to implement a multi-use cup circulation system by 2027.
Specifically, 20 coffee shops located in the government complex in Sejong, central South Korea, will adopt the multi-use cup circulation system on Thursday, transforming into dedicated stores for reusable cups.
Two out of the 22 coffee shops in the Sejong government complex have already implemented the multi-use cup circulation system in March.
The environment ministry estimates that the conversion of these coffee shops into dedicated stores for reusable cups would result in a reduction of 1.8 million disposable cups annually.
Since December of last year, the government has implemented guidelines in public institutions that restrict the use of disposable cups.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
