Climate & environment, explained.
A cashier checks government-regulated waste bags at a grocery store in Goyang on 30 March 2026 (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)
Near-total food waste recycling took South Korea decades of bans, fines and public education – not good intentions alone.
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South Korea’s food waste model – and its limitsSouth Korea’s food waste model – and its limits
South Korea’s success in recycling almost 100% of its food waste – as well as in actively reducing food waste overall – offers a compelling model for countries around the world seeking to mitigate the consequences of climate change. With the COP31 global negotiations looming, the cost of food waste will again be on the agenda.
The world wastes (Opens in new window) more than 1.3 billion tonnes of food each year, contributing to landfill and contaminating soil. Food waste is estimated to contribute up to 14% of global methane (Opens in new window) emissions. When compared to carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas contributor, methane is 84 times more potent over the 20-year time horizon.
For South Korea, its struggles with food waste worsened from the late 1980s as the country continued to industrialise (Opens in new window) and urbanise. Due to the country’s high population density and relatively limited land area, the South Korean government responded with a 1995 policy to separate food from other forms of waste, drawing inspiration from waste management approaches in Japan (Opens in new window) and Europe (Opens in new window). South Korea’s approach was strengthened in 2005 through legislation (Opens in new window) that banned outright the disposal of food waste in landfill.
Simply encouraging households and businesses to recycle on a voluntary basis is unlikely to be enough.
Initially met with resistance, South Korea’s top-down approach over time has normalised food waste recycling through two alternative methods (Opens in new window). The first involves food disposal through pre-paid waste bags disposed of in streetside bins. The second method is used primarily in apartment buildings, where an electronic bin is used to weigh and dispose of food waste.
South Korea also mandates adherence by local businesses to a food waste disposal regime, including a policy that restaurants must charge customers for any uneaten food. At the local government level, the city of Seoul in 2022 (Opens in new window) provided large food composter machines to hotels, hospitals, restaurants and cafeterias.
Over the past three decades, South Korea’s journey with food waste recycling has created a circular green economy with a whole host of economic, environmental and social benefits. Less than 3% (Opens in new window) of food waste was recycled in 1995, whereas the rate today is 98% (Opens in new window), with uses including animal feed, compost and energy generation. The Daejeon Bioenergy Centre (Opens in new window), for example, receives more than 400 tonnes of food scraps per day and converts waste into enough energy to power around 20,000 households.
Despite South Korea’s success in reducing landfill and the production of methane through its food waste policies, its recycling journey has not been without challenges. Concerns have arisen about the quality of recycled food waste due to the spread of livestock diseases through recycled animal feed (Opens in new window) and the high salt content (Opens in new window) of recycled fertiliser.
South Korea has realised that food waste recycling must be accompanied by active mechanisms to reduce the volume of food waste in the first place. Consistent with the Food Waste Breakthrough Initiative launched (Opens in new window) at COP30 last year, the South Korean government pledged to halve the amount of generated food waste by 2030.
Seoul provides an effective case study. Last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government implemented an incentive-based policy (Opens in new window) whereby residents who reduce food waste by 10% or more are awarded points that can be used like cash to pay utility bills and more. In addition, the Yindii (Opens in new window) app allows consumers in Seoul to buy unsold food for at least half price from participating businesses.
South Korea’s example offers lessons, although it may not be readily emulated. Some larger countries have lower population densities, reducing the feasibility of a national food recycling system. Transporting food waste over large distances to recycling facilities would be economically and logistically difficult. Many cities around the world are instead introducing local government-led food recycling initiatives, including in Sydney (Opens in new window) and New York (Opens in new window).
But the South Korean experience does suggest that countries introducing food waste systems must ensure that implementation is accompanied by mechanisms to increase compliance. Simply encouraging households and businesses to recycle on a voluntary basis is unlikely to be enough. The implementation of financial penalties is one method that has been effective for South Korea, which introduced fines for the incorrect disposal of food waste in 2013 (Opens in new window).
Public education is also necessary to maximise the correct disposal of food waste. Due to confusion about what is considered food waste, the South Korean government has introduced an official app (Opens in new window) with guidance. For example, while egg yolks and whites can be disposed of in food waste, eggshells cannot.
Raising public education and awareness involves ensuring that all residents, regardless of linguistic background and visa status, are aware of food waste practices. To this effect, in 2020 the Seoul Metropolitan Government rolled out a guidebook (Opens in new window) on food waste separation and disposal that was released in ten languages to assist foreign residents, multicultural families, migrant workers and tourists.
South Korea’s policies have shown that citizens and businesses have a key role to play in mitigating the effects of climate change at the local level.
About the author
Afeeya Akhand
Afeeya Akhand is a policy researcher and a Global Korea Scholar studying at Korea University.
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