The South Korean government has announced its new goal of slashing plastic waste by HALF over the coming decade.
The environment ministry's plan will ban single-use plastic bags at retail shops and the sale of colored plastic bottles for beverages.
Colored plastic is harder to recycle than clear plastic.
Under the new regulations,... beverage makers will be banned from using colored plastic bottles from 2020 after a grace period, and supermarkets and grocery stores will be not allowed to give out plastic bags from October.
Large coffee chains and fast-food restaurants will be offered incentives to use individual tumblers or mugs instead of plastic cups.
With it,... the ministry hopes to raise the recycling rate to 70 percent by the year 2030 from the current 34 percent.
