The Ministry of Environment launches Comprehensive Measures for Food Waste Control, aimed at minimizing food waste discharge while maximizing recycling. The measures set specific waste reduction and recycling targets to be attained by 2007 as below.

I. Food Waste Discharge: 11,397 tons/day (''02) -> 10,302 tons/day (''07)
II. Recycling Rate: 63% (''02) -> 77% (''07)

The new measures were built upon the learned outcomes from the implementation of ‘Basic Plans for Food Waste Resourcification’, which was carried out for the last 5 years by the Ministry of Environment in hands with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Reducing food waste discharge from 11,397 tons to 10,302 tons/day by 2007 requires 2% reduction every year. To attain this target, the Ministry introduces various precautionary strategies. Among these include encouraging voluntary actions by the business sector, promoting joint education/PR programs with civil groups, and providing various incentives to those who demonstrate exemplary models for waste reduction.

Furthermore, in order to accomplish the recycling target, the Ministry will increase the number of households subject to Separate Food Waste Discharge System from 11,100,000 to 16,920,000 (94% of total households) by 2007, while widely expanding waste treatment facilities from 80 plants capable of treating 2,598 tons/day to 130 plants capable of treating 6,781 tons/day. Once these measures are successfully implemented, the ROK will attain 77% food waste recycling rate by 2007.