New PET bottle recycling rule effective on Feb. 1

PET bottles are processed at a local recycling center in Gyeonggi Province. Seoul's new recycling rules will force residents to collect transparent PET bottles for recycling from Feb. 1./ Korea Times file

By Kim Se-jeong

In 2018, a waste crisis occurred in Seoul after private waste collectors refused to pick up plastic, leading to the central government banning the use of plastic bags and cups in big supermarkets and coffee shops nationwide.

Starting from Feb. 1, residents of the capital will face another consequence. The city will collect plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate ― simply known as PET ― separately

Residents will have to put PET bottles in separate bags for collectors to pick them up. The new rule will only be applied to transparent water PET bottles ― colored beer and soda bottles and transparent milk bottles will be excluded. The new PET collections will be on Thursday only.

Residents should remove labels from the bottles, but not the caps ― recycling centers can do that job with robots.

If you're an apartment resident, you will only be asked to separate the bottles from other recycling items at the apartment compound.

If you're a non-apartment resident, however, you'll receive bags from your local office and be asked to take full ones to a collection spot in your neighborhood every Thursday.

The year 2020 will be a trial period meaning no penalty will be imposed on people who don't comply with the new regulation. But things will change from 2021, with details on penalties still to come.

The 2018 plastic waste crisis was a wake-up call for all of Korea. People, especially policy makers, began reconsidering the waste management system and tried to come up with creative ways to reduce waste.

The crisis came because China, which for years had been the destination for plastic waste, banned its importation. Chinese companies had imported the waste from all over the world and recycled most of it, but sometimes, rogue actors just dumped it in remote areas of the vast country.

China's decision in 2018 disrupted the global waste management chain.

"For Korea, most PET bottle ingredients are imported from Japan. Through this new rule, we hope more domestic PET bottles will get recycled, helping imports from Japan decline," an official surnamed Ban from the Seoul Metropolitan Government said. Daily, Seoul produces 253.5 tons of plastic waste which is either recycled or incinerated in city-designated installations. Transparent PET battles are easier and more valuable to recycle than colored bottles.

First invented in the early 20th century, plastic made life easier for many. However, its negative effects on the environment and the human body were reported ever since it was first used, but these were not taken seriously until recently.

Oceans are the most vulnerable to plastic waste. Studies have found that plastic waste creates floating islands ― one in the Pacific Ocean is the size of the U.S. state of Texas.

The plastic waste in the ocean is taken up by plankton and as they are digested by other species in the food chain it finally reaches humans through seafood consumption.

Studies on plastics negative effective on the human body are still in the early stages but a few have revealed that it could disrupt the balance of sex hormones among other side effects. One plastic material researcher in Korea told The Korea Times recently that he no longer eats shellfish for fear of consuming micro-plastic particles.

New PET recycling is only one of the many changes that are happening in Seoul in 2020. Other changes to improve the living environment are as follows:

1. Seoul's bike routes will be expanded to Cheonggyecheon-ro, an inner city walking trail along Cheonggye Stream. From October, people will be able to ride bikes from one end of the stream to the other on a 5.5-kilometer route which could be a nice lunch break activity.

If your car is old and emits a large amount of pollutants, driving in Seoul will become more expensive from this year. The city is charging drivers with the emission grade 5 vehicles 50 percent more in parking fees. This will only be applicable to city-run parking lots. The extra fee will be charged until the end of March when seasonal air pollution falls. To check your car's emission grade, please visit
https://emissiongrade.mecar.or.kr/www/emigrade/myCarGradeSel.do

The city's basic income program will benefit 30,000 young adults this year, a big jump from 7,000 recipients last year. The program offers the selected recipients 500,000 won per month for six months. The first round of the application process will start in March. For more information please visit

www.seoul.go.kr.
4. The city government will add 13,000 Ttareungyi bikes onto the streets by the end of the year. It will also introduce 500 electric bicycles in a trial operation to offer further convenience to city residents who live in neighborhoods with steep slopes. Currently, the city runs 25,000 bicycles.

5. The city will increase the number of after-school care centers by 222 by the end of the year. Currently, the city has 45 centers ― the goal is 400 centers by 2022. The centers are open to the parents of any elementary school student who is interested. From this year, the cost will be 50,000 won per month, down from 100,000 won. The centers will have teachers ― one for every 10 children on average ― and they'll introduce the children to extra-curricular activities. The care centers stay open until 7:30 p.m. during the school year and 6 p.m. during summer and winter breaks.