Baemin's 'Sseujalbeop' Watched by 1.7 Million

Positive Response to Separation Disposal Diary Featuring 'How to Dispose of Trash Properly'
Leading Eco-Friendly Policies Including Reducing Delivery Containers

Greasy chicken boxes, pizza hot sauce packets, bright red tteokbokki containers, angel hair kelp under the sashimi. When cleaning up after ordering delivery food, there are many confusing questions. Can containers stained with oil or sauce be recycled? Is angel hair kelp considered food waste? A video that answers these questions all at once is gaining popularity. It is the “Separation and Disposal Diary” created by Baemin (Baedal Minjok). It was produced with the purpose of properly informing the separation and disposal methods so that the increasing plastic delivery containers can be recycled. In addition, Baemin is strengthening policies for eco-friendly delivery in various ways, such as introducing the “Decline Basic Side Dishes” feature.

According to Baemin on the 20th, the cumulative views of the “Separation and Disposal Diary,” which has been released on YouTube since last year with information on separation and disposal, have now exceeded 1.7 million. So far, 11 episodes have been produced, covering frequently ordered delivery foods and franchise-specific containers. For example, after ordering jjambbong, the video explains in an easy-to-understand way in about three minutes how to dispose of leftover mussel shells, plastic containers, jjambbong broth-stained wrap, and danmuji styrofoam containers. It was created based on advice from environmental experts such as Soosul Hong, director of the Resource Circulation Social Economy Research Institute, and each episode guides how to handle about five or six types of waste. Responses to the videos have been positive, with comments like “It helps by telling me the parts I was really curious about when ordering delivery food.”

Baemin is putting effort not only into recycling but also into reducing the use of delivery containers. The “Decline Basic Side Dishes” feature introduced last month is a representative example. It allows consumers to choose whether to receive basic side dishes such as kimchi and danmuji when ordering through the app. Basic side dishes have been provided with delivery food, but often go uneaten, increasing both food waste and packaging waste. Baemin expects that adding the basic side dish selection feature will have a significant effect on reducing disposable items and food waste.

As social interest in the environment grows, the number of consumers choosing this feature continues to increase. In fact, before introducing this feature, Baemin ran a “Decline Uneaten Basic Side Dishes” campaign for one month, resulting in about 8,500 participating members and approximately 18,000 orders. A merchant on Baemin said, “Many customers choose to exclude side dishes, so the use of disposable containers has decreased by about 20 to 30%.”

Since 2019, Baemin has also been operating an eco-friendly campaign to “Decline Disposable Spoons and Forks.” So far, customers have chosen not to receive disposable spoons and forks about 200 million times.

The delivery platform industry plans to focus on discovering and applying various eco-friendly policies that both customers and restaurants can participate in, amid the increase in delivery orders due to COVID-19 and the resulting environmental issues such as plastic waste. A Baemin representative said, “We will continue to consider and reflect various ways to practice environmental protection on the ground.”