The Ministry of Environment (Vice Minister- Park Chun-gyu) has worked together with the Korean Foundation for the Environment and Starbucks Coffee Korea (hereinafter "Starbucks") at 10 am on May 8 at the Jongno Arr (R) Starbucks. They have announced the achievements and proceed with the 'MY TUMBLER' public interest campaign to increase the use of multi-use cups.
In accordance with voluntary agreements signed with the Ministry of Environment-Coffee shops (16 companies) signed on May 24 last year, Starbucks encouraged the use of multi-purpose cups.
Furthermore, in order to reduce the consumption of single-use cups, they created a reward called 'Eco Bonus Star.' The benefit is being given a discount of 300 won for a customer who uses a personal cup, or a reward for a cashable score (eco-star).
As a result of recommending the use of multi-serving cups, individual cup usage at Starbucks stores nationwide, which was 3,891,636 units for 12 months from May 2017 to voluntary agreement in 2018, increased 178% over the same period since May 2018, and recorded a total of 1,081,967.
Starting in November 2018, Starbucks introduced a lid that allows people to drink without either paper or straw, resulting in a 40 percent drop in disposable straw usage from 72,203,900 to 43,355,500.
The use of disposable cups and straws has been significantly reduced since the voluntary agreement.
Ministry of Environment - Environment Foundation - Starbucks will continue to discuss the use of disposable cups and straws and a way to increase the use of multi-purpose cups.
On the other hand, on the day of the event, 1,000 individual tumblers were presented on a first-come-first-served basis to citizens who have certified the use of multi-use cups in Social Network Service (SNS).
Chae-eun Lee, director of Resource Circulation Policy Department in Ministry of Environment, said, "The people in charge of recycling policy of the Ministry of Environment should reduce the disposable items used unintentionally, and citizens should actively participate in the multi-use cups."
※ Photos of related events were published by the Ministry of the Environment website