Residents of Seoul's Mapo-gu District dispose of food waste in weight-calculating bins. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Jihae

A leading American daily has praised Korea for recycling 98% of its food waste.

In its article "South Korea recycles 98% of its food waste. What can it teach the world?" The Washington Post on Aug. 9 explained the country's methods of turning such trash into compost, livestock feed or biogas.

It said, "South Korea is one of the few countries with a nationwide system for food-waste management. While France made composting food mandatory this year — and some cities like New York have imposed similar rules — few places match up with South Korea."

The Post said 40% of food waste in the U.S. gets recycled or composted, with annual average food waste per capita of 137 kg.

"In the United States, 60 percent of food waste goes to landfills, according to a 2019 Environmental Protection Agency estimate, with only 5 percent composted and 15 percent turned into energy," it added.

But Korea's rate is 98% thanks to a ban on putting food waste into landfills and requiring the separation of such waste from trash and recyclables for the past 20 years, it said.

Saying "few places match up" to Korea, the daily introduced the pay-as-you-go basis of the domestic trash system, adding, "The country's 50 million people consider food recycling a part of daily life."

"Some Seoul high-rises have electronic waste bins that weigh food waste. Residents, who log their waste via a digital card, are charged by the month according to how much they throw out. Others buy government compost bags for as little as 10 cents, and dispose of them in streetside bins."

The article added, "The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says up to 31 percent of all food gets wasted, which is enough to feed more than a billion hungry people. Food waste is estimated to cause 6 to 8 percent of global emissions."

jihlee08@korea.kr