"2kg Paper Packs with 1 Roll of Tissue, Who Would Come to Exchange?"... Retreating Paper Pack Recycling

Milk Carton Recycling Rate 12.7%... Halved in 10 Years
Separate Disposal from Paper Required but Not Followed
"Low Recycling Accessibility, System Itself Must Change"

On the morning of the 9th, a local community center in Dongjak-gu, Seoul was visited. In front of the PET bottle collection machine placed there, residents lined up to recycle. A community center official in charge of cleaning and recycling projects explained, "Residents participate a lot in recycling PET bottles and batteries, but paper cartons have become relatively less popular."

A notice about the paper carton recycling reward program is posted at a community center in Dongjak-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yeom Dayeon]

He said, "Originally, one roll of toilet paper was given for 1kg of paper cartons, but due to budget cuts, it was adjusted to one roll for 2kg starting two years ago," adding, "While some people come with a good awareness and the thought that recycling should be done, many respond with 'Why bother when the compensation isn't proper?'" He added, "As the related budget is cut like this, awareness and effort itself decline, so the recycling rate seems to be dropping, which is regrettable."

The recycling rate of paper cartons continues to decline. The Ministry of Environment estimates that if paper carton recycling were 100%, it would have the effect of planting 1.3 million 20-year-old trees annually, but the actual recycling rate does not even reach 13%. Experts emphasize that systematic improvements are needed, such as increasing accessibility so that paper cartons can be easily recycled in daily life like cans and PET bottles.

According to the Ministry of Environment, the recycling rate of paper cartons was 12.7% as of last year, which has dropped by more than half compared to 10 years ago. Compared to the recycling rates of plastic or glass bottles, which are in the 40-50% range, this is significantly low. Paper cartons must be disposed of separately from general paper to be recycled, but in reality, most do not follow this. Of the 75,000 tons of paper cartons shipped in 2022, about 60% were mixed with waste paper, and 27% were thrown away in designated garbage bags.

There are three main ways to recycle paper cartons in daily life. Residents can bring collected paper cartons to community centers, smart collection machines, or consumer cooperatives and zero-waste shops. However, unlike cans, glass, or PET bottles, which can be disposed of right in front of the house, paper cartons must be collected and brought directly, which lowers accessibility. Also, the standards for collecting paper cartons and the compensation vary by local government, and many areas do not have paper carton disposal bins installed, making collection activation difficult.

Paper carton collection box installed by Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province [Photo by Seongnam City]

Kim Kyung-ja (65), who visited the community center that day, said, "I visit often because of PET bottle recycling, but it seems only those who come keep coming for paper cartons," adding, "Most are elderly people, and it's heavy and difficult, so how much can they really do?" Park (28), who works at a cafe, said, "I have been disposing of milk cartons as paper waste until now, but I didn't know they weren't recycled," and added, "I want to participate in recycling, but actually collecting and bringing them seems difficult."

Experts emphasize that to increase the recycling rate, it is necessary to clearly establish the overall process from the disposal of paper cartons to their transfer to sorting centers. Hong Soo-yeol, director of the Resource Circulation Social Economy Research Institute, said, "Paper cartons should be separated and disposed of as a single beverage container like cans and PET bottles, not as waste paper, and then transferred to paper carton sorting centers," adding, "The Ministry of Environment should clearly announce disposal guidelines, and local governments should continuously conduct guidance and inspections targeting multi-family housing."