Gwangju City Implements Comprehensive Measures to Reduce Food Waste

Goal to Lose 10 Tons per Day

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 24th that it has prepared a comprehensive plan to reduce food waste and will begin full-scale implementation starting next month.

Gwangju City has steadily reduced food waste from 537 tons/day in 2015, 526 tons/day in 2016, and 501 tons/day in 2017 through efforts with autonomous districts and related organizations. However, in 2018, the amount increased again to 509 tons/day.

This result is attributed to an increase in food waste generated from single-family homes, restaurants, and large-scale waste producers such as cafeterias, despite a 13% reduction in food waste in apartment complexes in 2018 compared to 2015 due to the expansion of RFID-based volume-based waste fees and on-site reduction education and promotion at schools.

Accordingly, Gwangju plans to reduce food waste by 2%, or 10 tons per day compared to the previous year, by promoting 12 projects in two fields, including the existing reduction projects.

First, the city will continue the installation of 225 RFID-based food waste volume meters in apartment complexes that charge fees based on the amount of waste discharged per household, and will pilot the installation of 13 reduction devices that process food waste at the source. If effective, this will be expanded.

Also, the food waste fee, which has been frozen for seven years since 2012, will be raised starting March 1.

Until now, the five autonomous districts have frozen fees to minimize the financial burden on citizens, but as a result, the resident burden rate has dropped to about 26%, while the proportion borne by the districts has relatively increased, causing a continuous rise in the districts' financial burden.

The national average resident burden rate for special and metropolitan cities is 36%, and the Ministry of Environment recommends raising the resident burden rate to 80% to establish the principle of payer responsibility. In this context, Gwangju has maintained a relatively low resident burden rate.

The fee increase will take effect on March 1, with the following rates: ▲single-family homes from 46 won per liter to 70 won ▲businesses from 70 won per liter to 110 won ▲apartment complexes from 63 won per kilogram to 95 won.

With the fee increase, the average monthly fee per household in apartment complexes will rise from about 1,200 won to 1,800 won, an increase of approximately 600 won, which is expected to alleviate the financial burden on districts and reduce food waste generation.

In addition, to encourage reduction at large-scale waste producers such as restaurants and cafeterias where waste is increasing, education and promotion targeting citizens and students will be conducted. In particular, the on-site food waste reduction education, which has been provided to elementary school students since 2017, will be expanded to middle and high school students.

To reduce food waste generated by restaurants, shopping bags will be produced and distributed to allow customers to take leftover food home. Additionally, small and multi-compartment dish models will be developed and distributed to foster a food culture of taking only as much as one can eat.

Furthermore, in cooperation with the Korea Federation of Restaurants and the Chefs Association, education on the necessity of reduction and practical reduction methods will be provided to restaurant and cafeteria personnel. Campaigns and media promotions to spread a culture of voluntary practice among citizens will also be continuously promoted.

Park Jae-woo, head of the city's Resource Circulation Division, said, “We will continue to implement various projects to reduce food waste,” and added, “The best method is to reduce generation itself, so we ask citizens to actively participate in reducing food waste in daily life by preparing and ordering only as much as they can eat.”