Public-Private Partnership for Customized Disposable Cup Deposit System at Amusement Parks

The Ministry of Environment (Minister Kim Wan-seop) announced that it will sign a ‘Voluntary Agreement for the Implementation of a Customized Disposable Cup Deposit System at Seoul Land’ with Seoul Land Co., Ltd., Gwacheon City, and the Resource Circulation Deposit Management Center at Seoul Land (located in Gwacheon City, Gyeonggi Province) on April 1.

  The signing ceremony on this day will be attended by Minister of Environment Kim Wan-seop, CEO of Seoul Land Kim Dae-jung, Mayor of Gwacheon Shin Gye-yong, and Director of the Resource Circulation Deposit Management Center Park Yong-gyu.

Participating organizations will gradually implement a disposable cup deposit system ^*   to reduce the use of disposable cups at Seoul Land and to ensure that disposable cups that are inevitably used are properly collected and recycled .

 * When selling drinks in disposable cups at stores, a deposit is included in the price and the deposit is returned when the consumer returns the cup.

  The disposable cup deposit system has been implemented in franchise stores in the Sejong and Jeju areas since 2022, but there have been concerns that the collection and return procedures are complicated depending on the site, causing inconvenience to consumers and burden to store owners. Accordingly, the Ministry of Environment has been promoting the introduction of a variety of disposable cup reduction and recycling systems tailored to the characteristics of the facility.

  Unlike Everland, which decided to switch to reusable containers, Seoul Land decided to introduce a deposit system that takes into account on-site conditions, becoming the first case of a deposit system being implemented in a large facility such as an amusement park.

  By using the cups in the store as they are, the burden on stores such as labeling and customer service has been reduced. Also, unlike the current leading region, there is no separate system for returning deposits; instead, you can return 500 won in cash by placing the cup in an unmanned return machine, reducing operating costs and making it easier for anyone to use.

Seoul Land will be implementing the deposit system in two stores (Dunkin and Choi Bean) with high disposable cup usage starting in June, and plans to expand it to all stores in October.

  Recovered disposable cups (plastic or paper) are stored separately and collected by professional recycling companies to be recycled into short fibers or cardboard. In addition, measures to reduce the use of disposable cups are being sought, such as providing benefits (incentives) such as discounts to customers who use reusable cups (tumblers) by utilizing the non-refundable deposit.

  Gwacheon City plans to actively seek ways to create local jobs while making it easier for consumers to return their deposits, such as by establishing a deposit incentive return center in conjunction with senior citizen job creation projects.

  The Resource Recycling Deposit Management Center will provide administrative support to Seoul Land, including leasing cash-returnable unmanned return machines to Seoul Land, based on its experience operating a disposable cup deposit system in local governments such as Sejong and Jeju.

  The Ministry of Environment will monitor the status of implementation together with Gwacheon City, Seoul Land, etc., and focus its capabilities on administrative and financial support such as publicity to ensure smooth implementation of the agreement.

  It is expected that through this agreement, approximately 1 million disposable cups used at Seoul Land annually will be collected and recycled.

  Meanwhile, at the signing ceremony on this day, Dunkin and Choibin Seoul Land stores, which are leading the way, will be awarded a plaque stating ‘Seoul Land Customized Disposable Cup Deposit System Participating Stores’.

  Minister of Environment Kim Wan-seop said, “We plan to continuously expand the disposable cup usage reduction system that suits the characteristics of the field and the public’s expectations so that good regulations based on cooperation and communication, rather than unilateral enforcement regulations, can operate smoothly in the field.”