Dongsuh Foods upcycles Kanu capsules into car air fresheners, switches to paper handles

Dongsuh Foods announced Monday that it is expanding its resource-recycling efforts by upcycling used Kanu capsules into car air fresheners and replacing the plastic handles on Kanu gift sets with paper ones.

The company collected used Kanu capsules and upcycled them into the air fresheners in collaboration with the North Chungcheong Province branch of Korea Expressway Corporation. The fresheners will be distributed to consumers free of charge through a promotional event.

About 27 tons of Kanu capsules have been collected since November 2023 through August this year. Recycling that volume is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 54 tons of CO2 equivalent — the same effect as taking 17.8 passenger vehicles off the road for a year.

Dongsuh Foods also replaced the plastic handles on Kanu gift sets entirely with paper ones, extending a switch it first made with Maxim coffee-mix gift sets in 2023. The change is expected to cut about 1.8 tons of plastic waste per year.

"We are continuing eco-friendly activities that consumers can practice in their everyday lives," a company official said. "We will keep expanding our efforts for resource recycling and environmental protection."