More S. Korean firms collecting their used product containers for recycling

More South Korean companies in South Korea, such as CJ Cheiljedang Corp., Shinsegae International Inc., and Jeju Samdasoo are collecting empty containers from their customers to boost the recycling rate.

Last month, CJ Cheiljedang, the country’s leading food manufacturer, launched a service to collect the empty containers of its cooked rice product Hetbahn.

The company will collect use containers from customers who buy a set consisting of Hetbahn and a collection box through the company’s online mall and fill the box with more than 20 empty containers.

There were 260,000 units of Hetbahn packages sold together with a collection box during the past month, comprising about 40 percent of the total number of Hetbahn sold through the online mall.

In October, Shinsegae International launched the collection of empty cosmetic bottles with the help of local recycling company TerraCycle back in October last year.

Customers can visit Shinsegae stores to return the bottles or simply put them in front of their homes after collecting more than three bottles and filling out an online application.

More bottled water brands are also collecting empty mineral bottles.

Jeju Samdasoo, a mineral water brand by Jeju Province Development Corp., and Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co. have started collecting empty bottles of its “ICIS” bottled mineral water in Seoul and Gyeonggi areas.