[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Starting next year, disposable cups will no longer be allowed in cafes. The Ministry of Environment is pushing to remove the exception clause that currently allows the use of disposable items in cafes during infectious disease pandemics such as COVID-19.
On the 18th, the Ministry of Environment announced an administrative notice regarding the amendment of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling Resources, which includes this change.
Previously, to reduce the use of disposable items, the Ministry of Environment banned the use of disposables inside cafes and fast food restaurants starting August 2018. However, under the current disposable item usage regulations, if an infectious disease alert of 'warning' level or higher is issued, the use of disposable items can be exempted from the regulations. When the spread of COVID-19 became prominent in February last year, the Ministry of Environment allowed local governments to permit the use of disposable items inside food service establishments based on this exception clause if deemed urgent.
With the re-prohibition of disposable item use inside cafes, fines will also be reapplied. If a cafe with a floor area of 333㎡ or more is caught using disposable items, the fines are 500,000 KRW for the first violation, 1,000,000 KRW for the second, and 2,000,000 KRW for three or more violations.
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