Residents earn 10 won per bottle, up to 20 bottles a day; district taps 300 million won performance bonus from Seoul's top recycling award to fund the expansion
Yongsan-gu in Seoul has installed unmanned transparent PET bottle collection machines at the Hyochang-dong and Itaewon 2-dong community centers, launching a pilot program aimed at encouraging proper recycling and boosting resource circulation.
The initiative builds on strong resident interest and participation in the district's expanded transparent PET bottle–garbage bag exchange program introduced this year. Yongsan-gu said the machines offer an additional, more convenient way for residents to dispose of transparent PET bottles, with the goal of increasing collection rates and making resource recycling part of everyday life.
The machines were installed at the Hyochang-dong and Itaewon 2-dong community centers — two locations that saw particularly high resident participation in the bottle-exchange program expanded this year. The district is running both the existing exchange program and the new unmanned machines in parallel, giving residents the flexibility to choose whichever method suits them.
When a transparent PET bottle is inserted into a machine, AI automatically identifies and collects it. Residents earn 10 won per bottle through a dedicated app, with a daily cap of 20 bottles per person.
To use the machines, residents must empty the bottle, remove its label and insert it clean. Collected bottles are sorted and processed before being used as recycled raw materials.
Yongsan-gu was named the top-performing district in the Seoul Metropolitan Government's second performance evaluation for household waste reduction and recycling, securing a 300 million won ($221,000) incentive. The district used part of that bonus to fund the installation and operation of the new machines, channeling the proceeds of its recycling achievements directly into resource-circulation programs that residents can experience firsthand.
During the pilot period, the district will monitor usage data, collection volumes and resident feedback to assess the program's effectiveness. Based on those findings, it will decide whether to expand the machines to additional locations.
"Residents showed great interest and participation in the transparent PET bottle–garbage bag exchange program we expanded this year," Yongsan-gu District Mayor Kim Kyung-dae said. "We hope the unmanned collection machines will make it even more convenient for residents to sort their transparent PET bottles and join in resource recycling." He added that the district would carefully review the pilot results and resident feedback to continuously develop ways to improve convenience and promote resource circulation.
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