KT Reusable Cup Campaign Joined by Six Organizations Located in Gwanghwamun

An employee is using the reusable cup booth installed in the in-house cafe at Maeil Dairies' Gwanghwamun headquarters building.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] KT announced on the 8th that it has proposed the reusable cup usage campaign, which has been implemented at major office buildings since last year, to companies affiliated with the Gwanghwamun One Team, and that companies such as Law Firm Bae, Tae-pyungyang, LX International, and Maeil Dairies, as well as organizations including Seoul YMCA, Korea Press Foundation, and Korea Central Volunteer Center, have agreed to participate. LINA Life Insurance and others are also considering adoption, so the number of participating organizations is expected to increase. Reusable cup infrastructure will be sequentially installed in the office buildings of participating companies in April.

At KT, beverages are served in reusable cups instead of disposable cups at cafes within office buildings, and employees place used cups into dedicated collection bins located on each floor. The specialized company Trash Busters collects and provides cleaning services for the cups. The collected cups go through a six-step cleaning process and are reused, with a minimum usage of up to 300 times. Reusable cups that have lost their commercial value are crushed and reprocessed to be used as raw materials for new reusable products. The carbon emissions from producing and disposing of disposable cups are ten times higher than those of reusable cups.

Along with KT, the Gwanghwamun One Team plans to continue various eco-friendly campaigns such as using eco-friendly shared umbrellas within nearby institutions and plogging (environmental protection activity involving picking up trash while running) using the Nanwoojung app, following the reusable cup usage campaign, to take the lead in achieving carbon neutrality.

The Gwanghwamun One Team was launched in May last year, bringing together a total of 17 organizations including companies located in Gwanghwamun such as KT, local governments, and non-profit organizations. Notable participants include Seoul City, Jongno District Office, Jongno Police Station, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, LINA Life Insurance, Maeil Dairies, Community Chest of Korea, and LX International. To support small businesses near Gwanghwamun struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team has conducted campaigns such as selling restaurant food in meal kit form or bundling products sold by merchants into packages to sell to employees of affiliated organizations.