Jeju Island Opposes Local Governments' Voluntary Implementation of Disposable Cup Deposit System

Urging System Improvements Including Nationwide Implementation Plans and Equity Resolution

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has clearly expressed its opposition to the amendment of the "Resource Recycling Act," which includes provisions for local governments to autonomously implement the disposable cup deposit system, and emphasized the need to establish a nationwide implementation plan.

According to Jeju Province on the 18th, the disposable cup deposit system requires consumers to pay a deposit (300 won) when purchasing a beverage in a disposable cup, and receive a full refund upon returning the cup. This system has been initially implemented in Jeju and Sejong since December 2 last year, with plans for nationwide implementation in 2025.

Jeju Province has expressed opposition to the amendment of the "Resource Recycling Act," which includes the autonomous implementation of the deposit system for disposable cups by local governments.
[Photo by Jeju Province]

However, concerns have been raised that nationwide implementation may be derailed as a recent amendment to the "Resource Recycling Act," allowing local governments to autonomously implement the deposit system, has been proposed in the National Assembly, and the Ministry of Environment has announced it is broadly collecting opinions.

Jeju Province experienced challenges such as fairness controversies and boycott declarations from some stores during the early stages of the deposit system implementation. However, after the store owners' association declared participation on April 7, 2023, the number of participating stores has increased, and currently, most stores are complying with the system.

With active cooperation from residents and stores, the number and rate of cup returns have also increased. As of September, the average daily return volume was 26,808 cups, with a return rate exceeding 70%, indicating that the system is settling in.

As a leading region for the disposable cup deposit system, Jeju Province has emphasized the need for system improvements to ensure stable operation, including resolving fairness issues and improving implementation methods to alleviate inconveniences related to cup returns and label attachment.

In particular, since the system has been applied only to certain franchise stores, raising concerns about fairness and effectiveness, Jeju Province insists that an amendment to the "Enforcement Decree of the Resource Recycling Act" is urgently needed to allow local government ordinances to expand the scope of stores subject to the deposit system.

Jeju Province is preparing to revise ordinances considering objective data such as disposable cup usage and sales scale, as well as fairness with currently mandated franchise stores, in line with the amendment of the enforcement decree.

Additionally, to reduce the obligation of stores to accept cup returns and enable consumers to easily return cups anywhere, the province plans to significantly expand public return locations. Furthermore, it will work with the Ministry of Environment to develop supplementary measures to simplify the complex implementation process of purchasing, registering, and attaching labels at stores.

Yang Jeyoon, Director of the Climate and Environment Bureau of Jeju Province, stated, "Plastic reduction is a direction society must inevitably take, and the disposable cup deposit system is an important policy to realize a plastic-free society."

He added, "To ensure the success of the policy, we must minimize inconvenience to residents and burdens on small business owners during the implementation process, and we will cooperate with the Ministry of Environment to promptly improve the system as much as possible."

Jeju = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Changwon baekok@asiae.co.kr