Recycling in Seoul
Living in South Korea you can't just throw everything in one bag and call it good, there are rules and special bags for getting rid of the junk.
Having the Right Bag!
Each district has their own official bag, you can't use Mapo-gu in Seodaemun-gu district. 42SHARE accommodation halls are in Seodaemun-gu district, so please make sure you are using the right bags :)
Food Waste Bag
Again remember to have the right bag for your district as well as to know what goes and does not go into this special bag. Basically anything that is edible has to go into this bag, but DO NOT throw in egg shells, clam shells, onion or garlic paper-like skin, animal bones, tea bags or tea leaves; instead they are considered as general waste, the bag below.
Notice that this bag is from Mapo-gu District which is pretty near from Seodaemun-gu, but generally food waste bags in Seoul will be of color yellow.
General Waste Bag
In this bag you throw in the mentioned above waste that DOES NOT go into the food waste bag, as well as non-recyclable waste (further discussion below).
To give an idea of what can go into this bag here is a list:
⌗Used Tissue ⌗Sanitary Pads ⌗etc.
⌗Old Clothes ⌗Toys
⌗Old Shoes ⌗Pens or Pencils
As a side note, if you have items or clothing that are still in good condition and would rather donate them, check out this link for a list of Drop-off Locations around Seoul: https://www.korea4expats.com/article-donations-clothing-household-goods-seoul.html
Seodaemun-gu District (서대문구청장) Bag
The highlighted blue on the trash bag indicates the district the bag is to be used in, use this image as a guide for those who will be staying at our accommodation halls!
Recyclable Waste Bag
Now here is where it gets a bit tricky for some people. This bag is meant to be even more environmentally friendly by having a separate bag to recycle paper, glass, vinyl, cans, and plastic. However for this area of waste you do not need a special bag, you can use any bag you may have from shopping and leave it at it's designated bin.
Please use ONLY transparent bags and don't throw loose waste!! :)
Waste that you can put in this bag are:
- Paper
- Printing paper
- Magazines
- Newspaper
- Boxes
- Cartons, etc.
- Paper pack
- Juice
- Milk
- Yogurt, etc.
- Glass
- Vitamin or energy bottles
- Alcoholic bottles, etc.
- Cans
- aluminum
- Iron
- Plastic
- NO:
- Toys and stationary pens.
- Vinyl
- Snack bags
- Dessert wraps
Where to Buy??
Now that you know what kind of bags you need and how to use them, let's learn where to get them!
Usually you can easily purchase them at any nearby convenience store such as GS25 or CU, as well as Chain or Local Marts as we talked about on our other blog post "Shopping, Banks, and SIM Cards In Seoul" Keep in mind tho that most likely than not you will have to ask the cashier for the bags and be able to tell them how many gallons (what size) you would like.
For that we have a list of sentences you can use when purchasing your bags!:
How to Ask:
⌗일반 쓰레기 봉투 있어요? (il-ban sseu-le-gi bong-tu iss-eo-yo?) = Do you have general waste garbage bags?
⌗음식물 쓰레기 봉투 있어요? (eum-sig-mul sseu-le-gi bong-tu iss-eo-yo?) = Do you have food waste garbage bags?
몇 리터? (myeot-li-teo?) = How many liters?
⌗이 (i) = two ⌗삼십 (sam-sib) = thirty
⌗삼 (sam) = three ⌗오십 (o-sib) = fifty
⌗오 (o)= five ⌗칠십오 (chil-sib-o) = seventy-five
⌗십 (sib) = ten ⌗백 (baek) = One Hundred
⌗이십 (i-sib) = twenty
Also keep in mind that not all locations possible to buy these bags will have all the sizes, mostly the bigger sized ones!
몇 장? (myeot-jang?) = How many?
⌗하나 (ha-na) = one ⌗여섯 (yeo-seot) = six
⌗둘 (dul) = two ⌗일곱 (il-gob) = seven
⌗셋 (set) = three ⌗여덟 (yeo-deolb) = eight
⌗넷 (net) = four ⌗아홉 (a-hob)= nine
⌗다섯 (da-seot) = five ⌗열 (yeol) = ten
My Waste Bags are full now what?
At 42SHARE we have 3 waste bins to throw in your bags!
The BLUE Waste Bin is where you will throw in your Recycle and Food waste bags, while the YELLOW Waste Bins are for General Waste.
Please remember when throwing away your waste to put them in the right bag as explained in this post!! it is really important not only for the environment but for your pocket as well, since there will be a fine of ₩100,000 if recycling guidelines are not followed.
For more information go to: https://10mag.com/your-complete-guide-to-garbage-disposal-in-south-korea/
Once you get used to how to assemble your waste it won't be as stressful as it sounds!! We hope that you transition well into living in Seoul and don't forget to check out our other blog posts!!!