So South Korea won the fight against leftover food

Eggshells, half-eaten sandwiches and coffee grounds. The mountain of smelly food scraps is growing in the world. But South Korea has gone from throwing away 98 percent of its food waste to recycling almost all of it—here’s the recipe for success.

Kimchi, pancake, sliced ​​tofu or why not fresh vegetables. They come in small bowls and are served with almost every meal in South Korean cuisine. But the small dishes, bancha, are rarely eaten – which has been a contributing factor to South Korea’s garbage mountain.

20 years ago, 98 percent of all food that was not eaten in the country ended up in the garbage. And it is not unique to South Korea. The lion’s share of the many millions of tons of food thrown away in the world each year ends up in landfills. As the remains begin to rot, they release the powerful greenhouse gas methane that contributes to warming the planet.

A lifestyle

But something has changed in South Korea. Today, 98 percent of food waste is turned into feed, compost or biogas, according to the Ministry of the Environment. It has caused representatives from a number of countries to travel to South Korea over the years to learn more about the secret behind the compost turnaround. Several cities have comparable programs, but South Korea has been something of a pioneer at the national level.

So how did food recycling become a way of life for over 50 million people?

Mountainous South Korea, one of the world’s most densely populated countries, had long struggled with the fact that there is no room to build any number of landfills – especially not far enough away from residential areas. Already in 1995 it became mandatory to recycle paper and plastic, but old food continued to be buried together with other rubbish.

However, the stench became increasingly unbearable, which put pressure on the politicians. In 2005, throwing food into landfills was banned in South Korea. And in 2013 it became mandatory to recycle in biodegradable bags. Both private individuals and restaurants have to buy the bags and thus in practice pay a tax for their leftover food. The revenue from the yellow bags then goes to transport and processing.

Smart vessels

In some areas, however, residents can ignore the bags and instead throw the food waste directly into electronic bins that automatically weigh the garbage and charge accordingly.

Lee Seo-Un throws away several kilograms of food waste every week. The smart bins outside the apartment in Seoul have made her more aware of household waste.

– Because we pay a fee that is determined by how much it weighs. Housewives are careful to reduce household expenses, she tells France 24.

– For example, I squeeze out all the liquid so that the leftovers don’t weigh so much.

Many believe that the recycling program has been successful because it is simple and accessible. The garbage bags are collected quickly and the fee is not so large that it becomes too noticeable, so that people throw their food waste illegally outside the system.

However, it does not seem to have reduced wastage. The amount of food thrown away has been more or less constant over the years, according to information from the Ministry of the Environment.

– We tried our hand at the beginning, it was very experimental, said Kim Mi-hwa, president of an alliance of 189 environmental groups that worked on the recycling program together with the government, to the LA Times last year.

– It was only around 2013 that we could call it a success.

Risk fines

However, the new recycling routine was not welcomed by everyone and a problem early in the process was the rule breakers. Some simply couldn’t or didn’t want to get used to sorting and storing potentially smelly leftovers at home and snuck their bags out to public bins. It prompted local authorities to offer rewards to tipsters who identified perpetrators, who in turn were fined for breaking the rules.

– At that time you saw signs at subway stations urging people not to throw away their food waste there. It was common for people to throw food waste into the toilet on their way to work, says Kim Mi-hwa.

– I think what the South Korean model proves is that it is actually feasible, if you put in the time and effort. South Koreans did not become conscientious overnight. But settings can change over time.

Some hesitation

Facilities have been built to take care of food waste and turn it into something valuable. But South Korea has not fully figured out how best to use the leftover food. Among other things, there is hesitation among some farmers who do not want to feed their animals with feed made from food waste or plant in soil with garbage manure, as it smells bad and has an excess of sodium, writes The Washington Post.

– There have been cases where cattle died from the feed, says environmental activist Park Jeong-eum to the newspaper.

– It is also impossible to ensure that not a single toothpick or piece of plastic or metal is mixed with the food waste that is converted into feed or fertilizer.

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