South Korea aims to gradually ban disposable plastic cups and straws within the next decade,... as part of its broader initiative to reduce the amount of waste produced.
Households will also be charged by the amount of food they throw out instead of the current set rate.
Kim Hyo-sun reports.
Statistics show people in Korea use a total of 25-point-seven billion plastic cups and ten billion plastic straws a year.
The Ministry of Environment and other related ministries have laid out plans to reduce the nation's waste.
The ten-year plan on sustainable waste and resource management submitted during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday includes a ban on disposable cups and straws by the year 2027.
The government also aims to prohibit excessive packaging.
In addition, the measures include reducing food waste by introducing the Radio-Frequency Identification, or RFID waste bins.
The government estimates this can reduce food waste by over 35 percent by charging households by the amount of waste.
The system will be made mandatory at apartments by 2022,... and be installed at restaurants within a decade.
"Our top priority is to reduce waste in the whole process of production, consumption, management and recycling and to redirect waste into the production process."
This initiative, the government says,... will help South Korea reduce the amount of waste by 20 percent and increase the real recycling rate to 82 percent within a decade.
Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.
