The South Korean government has announced its new goal of slashing plastic waste by HALF over the coming decade.<br /> The environment ministry's plan will ban single-use plastic bags at retail shops and the sale of colored plastic bottles for beverages.<br />Colored plastic is harder to recycle than clear plastic.<br /> Under the new regulations,... beverage makers will be banned from using colored plastic bottles from 2020 after a grace period, and supermarkets and grocery stores will be not allowed to give out plastic bags from October.<br /> Large coffee chains and fast-food restaurants will be offered incentives to use individual tumblers or mugs instead of plastic cups.<br />With it,... the ministry hopes to raise the recycling rate to 70 percent by the year 2030 from the current 34 percent. <br />
