Cafes near Sejong government complexes to join reusable cup deposit scheme

Twenty cafes near the Government Complex Sejong and Sejong City Hall will join the country's reusable cup deposit scheme, the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy announced Monday.

The ministry signed an MOU with Sejong City, the Sejong City Council and the Resource Circulation Society Solidarity at Sejong City Hall on Monday, formalizing the expansion.

Twenty cafes already operating inside Government Complex Sejong participate in the scheme. Under the new agreement, nine cafes near the complex and 11 near Sejong City Hall will join.

Under the deposit system, cafes serve takeout beverages in reusable cups instead of disposable ones and collect a 1,000-won deposit, which is refunded when the customer returns the cup.

Participating cafes receive partial reimbursement for cup collection, washing and redistribution costs, along with 30 carbon neutrality points per cup. Consumers who return a reusable cup earn 300 carbon neutrality points.

The ministry expects the expansion to reduce disposable cup use by more than 2 million a year.

"Cutting down on disposable cups and switching to reusable ones is a climate action anyone can take in daily life," Minister Kim Sung-hwan said. "We will make reusable cups more convenient to use and expand the number of participating stores so that the efforts of public institutions inspire broader public participation."