South Korea: Smart Trash Contains Food Waste

Some cities in Korea have just put chips in the trash to find out where too many households throw too much food. Those who violate will be fined severely.

Waste of food is considered a problem. In the United States, for example, 40% of food is thrown away, equivalent to 9kg of food per person per month. The food that is thrown away most is fruit. In Korea, the government has launched campaigns to prevent food waste from 2013 after it was found that it could cause significant damage to insect pests.

In Seoul, people now have to swipe cards with RFID chips to throw trash into the bin . This chip contains the user name and address, helping the authorities track the amount of waste. In the past, rubbish was rubbished, but now those who dispose of more rubbish are charged much higher.

The city also applies a policy of increasing fees to those who buy more trash bags. These combined moves have helped Seoul reduce the amount of excess food from hotel restaurants by 40% and the households by 30%.

Apart from Korea, other countries are also taking measures to cope with this waste, especially in Europe, Australia and France.