South Korea is hoping to ban using disposable plastic cups and straws within the next decade,... as part of its broader initiative to reduce the amount of waste.<br />And households will also be charged by the amount of food they throw out instead of the current set rate.<br />Kim Hyo-sun has more. <br /> Statistics show people in Korea use a total of 25-point-seven billion plastic cups and ten billion plastic straws a year. <br />The Ministry of Environment and other related ministries have laid out plans to reduce the nation's waste. <br />The ten-year plan on sustainable waste and resource management submitted during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday includes a ban on disposable cups and straws by the year 2027. <br />The government also aims to prohibit excessive packaging. <br /> In addition, the measures include reducing food waste by introducing the Radio-Frequency Identification, or RFID waste bins.<br />The government estimates this can reduce food waste by over 35 percent by charging households by the amount of waste. <br />The system will be made mandatory at apartments by 2022,... and be installed at restaurants within a decade. <br /><br /> "Our top priority is to reduce waste in the whole process of production, consumption, management and recycling and to redirect waste into the production process."<br /><br /> This initiative, the government says,... will help South Korea reduce the amount of waste by 20 percent and increase the real recycling rate to 82 percent within a decade. <br />Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News. <br />
