With South Koreans consuming an estimated 416 cups of espresso per yr – the very best charge in Asia – and greater than 80,000 espresso outlets serving a inhabitants of 51 million, disposable cup waste has develop into one of many nation’s most urgent environmental issues
In accordance with South Korea’s Ministry of Local weather, Vitality and Surroundings, the variety of single-use cups disposed of throughout the nation surpassed one billion in 2021 and, by the Ministry’s most up-to-date estimates, exceeds 5 billion yearly, a trajectory pushed by the fast enlargement of the nation’s espresso store and fast-food operators.
To deal with the issue, the ministry has signed a brand new settlement with among the nation’s largest espresso chains, QSR operators, and greater than 150 unbiased cafés, overlaying roughly 22,000 retailers nationwide.
The rules, which take impact in September 2026, require taking part companies to transition to reusable cups for on-site eating and to supply monetary incentives for purchasers who carry their very own cup or tumbler for takeaway orders.
Clients can save as much as ₩800 ($0.60) per beverage: store-level reductions of ₩300 to ₩400 for bringing a reusable cup, topped up by factors awarded by way of the federal government's Carbon Neutrality Motion Factors scheme, which rewards people for verified low-carbon behaviours.
Further measures embody a ban on ‘double-cupping’ – the widespread apply of nesting one cup inside one other for insulation – and a restriction on single-use straws, which is able to solely be supplied when particularly requested at a kiosk or from a member of employees.
Taking part companies have additionally pledged to part out PET cans, which mix plastic and steel in ways in which impede recycling. The scheme stays open to further operators past those that signed the preliminary settlement.
The settlement was formalised at an occasion on the Seoul Upcycling Plaza on 14 July 2026. It’s backed by Ediya Espresso, South Korea’s largest espresso chain with greater than 4,200 shops, alongside Paris Baguette and Starbucks, which collectively function an additional 6,000-plus retailers.
Learn associated: Why is Korea so obsessive about espresso?
Quick-food operators Burger King, McDonald’s and KFC, which between them run greater than 1,100 eating places throughout the nation, are additionally among the many signatories.
Talking on the occasion, Minister for Local weather, Vitality and Surroundings Kim Sung-hwan stated: “The transition towards a plastic-free round economic system begins with adjustments in on a regular basis areas reminiscent of cafés. Starting with this settlement with the café {industry}, we are going to work with companies and civil society organisations to develop these practices all through society.”
He additionally indicated that the federal government will monitor the programme over the subsequent three years to form future laws.
South Korea has been grappling with disposable cup waste for the higher a part of a decade. In 2018 it turned one of many first nations to ban using plastic cups for dine-in clients in espresso outlets, a measure that continues to be in pressure.
In December 2022, the federal government launched a deposit scheme for disposable cups at cafés and fast-food chains, with further state incentives in Jeju and the town of Sejong designed to speed up adoption.
Nevertheless, resistance from small enterprise homeowners undermined its effectiveness and the scheme was subsequently wound down.
An additional proposal emerged from the Ministry’s December 2025 public session on a Complete Plastic Discount Plan: a ‘Separate Cup Pricing’ mechanism that will have required operators to itemise the price of a disposable cup individually on a buyer’s receipt, making the environmental price seen on the level of buy.
That proposal was additionally withdrawn following backlash from café homeowners involved about its impact on pricing and margins. The present discount-based mannequin is its alternative – the third important try and shift takeaway cup behaviour at scale, and probably the most industry-supported so far.
The settlement sits inside South Korea’s wider ambition to cut back plastic waste by not less than 30% from projected ranges by 2030, a goal formally confirmed by the Ministry of Local weather, Vitality and Surroundings.
The federal government has individually mandated that bottled water have to be label-free all through manufacturing and distribution and required non-alcoholic beverage producers to include recycled plastic into their packaging from this yr.
