S. Korea now allows coffee grounds recycling without permit

South Korea’s Ministry of Environment will designate coffee grounds as a ‘circulation resource’ that would allow coffee shops to recycle them through more lenient requirements and procedures.

With increased coffee consumption in South Korea, the number of coffee grounds has increased from 93,397 tons in 2012 to 149,038 tons in 2019, a growth rate of 1.6 compared to the previous year.

Coffee grounds, on the other hand, have long been considered garbage and were therefore thrown away in special waste bags for incineration or being buried.

Only authorized agencies were able to collect and process coffee grounds, making it impossible for coffee waste to be recycled under the Wastes Control Act.

With this new rule in place, coffee grounds are expected to be utilized for a variety of purposes, including composting, and manufacturing of construction materials and plastic goods.