Recycling Volume and Processing Cost per Ton Rated ‘Best’ in 2024 Seoul Coffee Grounds Recycling Promotion Project
628 Local Cafes Encouraged to Participate... 20% of Total District Collection, 469 Tons Recycled
Songpa-gu (District Mayor Seo Gang-seok) has been selected as the ‘Best District’ among 18 autonomous districts in the ‘2024 Seoul Coffee Grounds Recycling Promotion Project.’
With this award, the district has achieved a ‘recycling triple crown,’ following last year’s nationwide first place in the ‘Recyclable Resource Separate Collection Contest’ and first place in the ‘Seoul Recycling Performance Evaluation.’
Coffee grounds (hereafter referred to as coffee waste) are general waste that cannot be recycled, and their volume and disposal costs have surged with the spread of coffee culture. In response, the district participated last year in the ‘Coffee Grounds Recycling Promotion Project’ led by Seoul City to reduce the disposal costs of the troublesome coffee waste and to decrease waste volume.
Songpa-gu’s coffee waste recycling is carried out as follows: coffee waste is collected in dedicated containers at each business, then gathered collectively to remove foreign substances, and provided three times a month as moisture regulators or compost to the livestock farm ‘Chilgapsan Chestnut Cooperative.’
In particular, the excellence in recycling volume and processing cost per ton was key to being selected as the best district. By December last year, the district recycled 469 tons, nearly 19.4% of the total coffee waste collected from all Seoul autonomous districts, while spending only 62% of the average processing cost per ton of other districts, proving outstanding economic efficiency.
Also, due to the nature of the project, which is difficult to promote without the efforts of businesses to separate and dispose of waste, the district made multifaceted efforts to encourage non-participating cafes to join the recycling initiative. Application forms were mailed to 320 non-participating businesses, visits were made to stores to encourage recycling, and a new online application portal was established on the district’s website for easy online registration.
As a result, the participation rate increased by 14% from 62% in March last year to 76%, with 628 out of 824 cafes participating in environmental protection. For the cafes, participating in resource circulation also brings the dual benefit of reducing household waste disposal costs.
Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “This award is a meaningful achievement made possible by residents who endured inconvenience to participate in environmental protection. It is time to change the mindset to view household waste as a resource for recycling. We will fulfill our administrative role to establish an efficient resource circulation system.”
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