SK Telecom is accelerating its decarbonization transition by expanding its flagship eco-friendly project, ‘Happy Habit,’ which contributed to establishing a culture of reusable cup usage, into the resource circulation sector.
On the 6th, to mark the 15th Resource Circulation Day, SKT announced plans to upgrade the Happy Habit application and extend it to the recycling field, including the collection of colorless PET bottles and high-quality recyclables.
The Happy Habit app, jointly developed and operated by SKT and the social enterprise Happy Connect, is used to convert deposits from the ‘Happy Habit’ campaign’s reusable cup usage into cash and various points.
According to the plan, a recycle points feature will be added to the ‘Happy Habit’ app, allowing users to easily accumulate and manage reward points when disposing of used colorless PET bottles at unmanned collection machines, and convert them into various points. Additionally, it will be linked with carbon-neutral points provided by the Korea Environment Corporation, enabling users to receive benefits for practicing carbon neutrality.
Residents of Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, who will use the recycle points feature, will receive 10 won in reward points per bottle and 100 won in carbon-neutral points per kilogram (cumulative basis) each time they return colorless PET bottles to unmanned collection machines installed in community facilities through the ‘Happy Habit’ app.
Residents can easily check their recycle points accumulation status on their ‘Happy Habit’ app and convert them in real-time to cash or OK Cashback for use.
Earlier in June, SKT signed a win-win agreement for a ‘Citizen-Created Resource Circulation Practice Village’ with Bupyeong-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City, the Korea Environment Corporation, and an unmanned collection machine startup, establishing a foundation for separating and collecting colorless PET bottles by installing unmanned collection machines in community facilities within Bupyeong-gu.
Starting with Bupyeong-gu, discussions are underway to expand the application of recycle points to various local governments, public institutions, and companies. Furthermore, the recycle points system will be extended beyond colorless PET bottles to high-quality recyclables such as toys that can be compensated, enabling customers to conveniently participate in various resource circulation activities with just the ‘Happy Habit’ app.
SKT is also contributing to reducing single-use waste by adding reusable container services to the ‘Happy Habit’ project at national park campgrounds.
In November last year, SKT signed a business agreement with the Korea National Park Service and launched a pilot reusable container service at the Chiaksan Guryong campground. In May this year, the service expanded to the Seoraksan Seorak-dong campground. The pilot service will also be provided at the Sagimak campground in Bukhansan, opening on the 21st. The initiative aims to encourage reduced use of disposable containers at campgrounds to help preserve the environment.
SKT plans to consider expanding the service to nationwide national parks as well as campgrounds operated by local governments or private entities, taking into account pilot project results and customer satisfaction.
Lee Junho, SKT’s ESG Promotion Manager, said, “To promote sustainable plastic reduction and decarbonization, an ecosystem where various companies and institutions with specialized capabilities can participate and create synergy is necessary. We plan to continuously strive to build such an ecosystem based on the Happy Habit project.”
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