The Korean Ministry of Environment said on April 1 that food service outlets such as cafes and restaurants nationwide will ban the provision of disposable utensils to dine-in customers from that day.
The applicable list includes disposable cups, plates, containers, forks, spoons, knives and other disposable tableware, as well as disposable wooden chopsticks and toothpicks, disposable plastic tablecloths and other 18 categories. Only mugs can be used for coffee and other beverages in the café, and plastic cups are prohibited. Free disposable plastic bags and shopping bags are not allowed, except in special cases such as when goods need to be kept separately. Disposable paper cups, plastic straws and stirring sticks are temporarily allowed to be used until Nov. 24, after which they will be banned. However, the Ministry of Environment plans to refrain from imposing fines and other controls until the epidemic situation improves, and to guide them mainly with guidance and guidelines.
South Korea implemented the Law on the Prohibition of Disposable Items in Food Service Establishments from August 2018, which bans the use of disposable items in food service establishments such as cafes. Later, affected by the epidemic, local governments allowed the temporary use of disposable items from February 2020. However, with the increasing amount of household waste during the epidemic, the Ministry of the Environment decided to activate the law again to reduce the blind use of disposable items.
