Multi-use containers for food deliveries. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that starting on Monday, delivery companies will begin delivering food in multi-use containers.
Consumers will now be able to select restaurants that provide multi-use containers for food deliveries from four different food delivery apps.
Once the order is made, the food will be delivered in a multi-use container and a bag. After dining, the used containers can be put inside the bag and left out on the doorstep and a QR code printed on the bag can be accessed to ask for the bag to be returned.
There are no extra deposits or charges for using multi-use containers.
The city worked with online food delivery app from October of last year to this January to trial the multi-use container service in Gangnam District.
In April, the city signed an agreement with four delivery platforms to expand the service, and developed an ordering system.
During the trial period, orders for multi-use containers jumped by more than 30 percent each week. In January, the usage of multi-use containers jumped by 478 percent since the initial stages of the project in October, reaching 67,000 orders.
Seoul launched commercial service in Gangnam District, aiming for expansion to Gwanak District in September and both Gwangjin and Seodaemun districts in October.
The Korea Consumer Agency reported that each delivery order uses an average of 18.3 plastic containers (147.7 grams). Each South Korean uses around 1,342 plastic containers (10.8 kilograms) per year.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
