Innovative Food Waste Reduce and Recycling Project Using RFID Technology

Background Information

•Waste Control Act

•Ordinance for Reduction of Food Waste and Collection, Distribution, and Recycling of Food Waste and Enforcement Rules under the ordinance

•Plan to Improve and Relocate Jeonju Food Waste Recycling Facility

•Operation Plan of “Daulmadang” for Substantial Reduction of Food Waste

Goals of the Initiative

The goal of the project was to reduce food waste and associated costs by turning food waste into recycled resources and minimizing the waste of resources to prevent environmental pollution. These steps will ultimately provide a comfortable, high quality living standard for our city residents through “the creation of an environmentally-friendly food culture and realization of low-carbon green growth through saving of energy consumption.”

First, Jeonju changed fixed food waste fees to radio frequency identification (RFID)-based fees centered on the amount of food waste created based on weight. Created by an ordinance, the system allowed for differential food waste fees and served as an inducement policy for the reduction of food waste.

Second, the system focused on minimizing environmental pollution due to odor and wastewater resulting from the existing food waste treatment facility. It also turned oil and dried substances from treating food waste into recycled resources.

Third, to resolve conflict with local residents regarding the relocation of the food waste treatment facility, Jeonju provided financial incentives to residents of the local community agreeing to build the facility. The facility was to be built and operated by a private company, helping minimize financial costs to the city.

Fourth, Jeonju composed and operated Daulmadang, a governance system for significant reduction of food waste. As a problem-solving organization consisting of local residents, experts, and relevant organizations, the system allowed the city to pursue a long-term implementation system for improving institutions and raising awareness of local residents about food waste.

Parties and Partners to the Initiative

Participants (public-private-industrial collaboration)

First, as the leader of the project, Jeonju focused on creating and implementing economical, yet environmentally-friendly policies to meet local residents’ demands. The city’s project was chosen as an outstanding policy by the central government, helping disseminate the city’s policy across South Korea.

Second, local residents were mainly responsible for implementing the project. They voluntarily contributed to reducing food waste. Residents living in the area where the relocated food waste treatment facility was to be built also participated in attracting the facility and its environmentally-friendly establishment and operation. Since the budget associated with building and operating the facility would come from residents’ taxes, any reduction of costs would benefit local residents. Local residents also participated in Daulmadang and played an important role as the developer and implementer of food waste reduction policies.

Third, the private sector also participated in reducing food waste. The company that was contracted out to operate the existing food waste treatment facility was responsible for turning oil and dried substances from treated food waste into recycled resources. The company contracted to build and operate the new, relocated food waste treatment facility helped improve food waste treatment efficiency with limited costs and reduced emission of greenhouse gases by using energy sources generated from methane. It is currently preparing for a facility that will recycle food waste into resources.

Resources Used for Implementation

To implement the project, the city is spending nine billion South Korean won (KRW) per year from taxes as well as food waste disposal fees. The company contracted to build and operate the new food waste treatment facility invested KRW 60.7 billion (65 percent of KRW 93.7 billion needed to relocate and build the facility) between 2014 and 2016 and is currently preparing for the operation of the facility. It is currently undergoing testing for full operation at the end of this year.

The implementation of the project involved 15 employees per day, 125 private workers per day to collect and distribute food waste, 21 workers per day to treat food waste, and 72 vehicles per day.

Jeonju obtained technological patents associated with a proportional food waste disposal system and treatment of oil substances and wastewater generated within the food waste treatment facility. The city provided technological support and personnel to the contracted private company so that the latter could commercialize the patented technology.

Innovation for the Initiative

Jeonju faced difficulty in managing food waste by source. Thus, it charged 1,000 KRW to houses that were 100 square meters or more and 5,000 KRW to houses that were less than 100 square meters. The city also charged fixed fees to each type of restaurant. These led to local residents lacking incentives to reduce food waste. Additionally, the city experienced technological and economic difficulties of quantifying food waste by source.

A major barrier of turning food waste into recycled resources was high-density wastewater. There was lack of biological and chemical treatment of wastewater, and oil substances contained in wastewater worked as a major obstacle in the food waste treatment process.

In addition, the city had difficulty securing financial resources sufficient to relocate and build the new waste treatment facility due to opposition from residents living near the facility as well as its own budgetary constraints.

Technological problems described here eventually led to the city’s efforts to work with public employees and technological staff in developing proper equipment and technology. Thanks to these efforts, the city registered patented technology under the South Korean Intellectual Property Office. The city had pursued a project that no other local governments had implemented. As such, it can be considered an innovative project that helped reduce food waste while turning it into recycled resources.

RFID is an innovative technology that attaches an electronic tag to a waste collection bin. Through a PDA reader, a person putting out waste is recognized, and the information regarding the amount of waste is transferred to the management system. Cooperation with local residents helped the implementation of the project to be wildly successful. The project has led to nationwide campaigns to reduce food waste. Overall, the project has been considered innovative and positive.

Innovation has been applied in

The central government assigns obligations to collect, distribute, and treat food waste to local governments throughout South Korea. As such, the city’s food waste reduction model has spread to other local governments in South Korea as an ideal model to manage waste.

Daulmadang, a government system led by citizens, experts, and public employees, allowed local residents who can benefit from waste management policies to participate in creating, operating, and managing such policies. In this way, the project improved the possibility of its implementation success while resolving the important local government issue of reducing food waste.

Obstacles and Solutions for Innovation

To introduce the proportional RFID-based food waste system, the city patented the “Instrumentation System for Weight of Waste” in 2008. It designed and produced vehicles with both RFID wireless recognition and weighting. The city also developed an RFID tag fitting the city’s waste collection vehicles.

SS and BOD substances served as barriers to stable treatment of food waste. Thus, the city registered three patents: Food Waste Water Processing Apparatus Used Dissolved Air Flotation Unit in 2009, Food Waste Water Processing Method in 2010, and Processing System of Liquid Food Waste Mandarin By-Product and Its Process Method in 2010. These efforts helped dramatically improve food waste treatment.

In relocating and building the new waste treatment facility, local residents living near the facility were given financial incentives to overcome their opposition. To resolve the financial issue, the city worked to induce investments from the private sector, reducing the financial burden on relocating and building the new waste treatment facility.

Outcomes and Assessments

The amount of food waste, which had been continually increasing, was 0.351kg per person/day in 2010, showing a 13 percent reduction compared to that of food waste before project implementation. Pollutants in the food waste treatment facility have been well-managed as part of a stable operation of turning food waste into recycled resources. Complaints from local residents have been resolved, and the food waste treatment facility was relocated and rebuilt in 2016 with an expanded size of 44,160 square meters. It is currently preparing for full operation. Jeonju, as an advanced food culture city, has obtained environmental sustainability for these food waste management policies, and the proportional RFID-based food waste system has spread to other local governments as a standard policy.

Methods Applied

To reduce food waste, the city registered three patents along with establishing a system and promoting it among local residents. The city applied the patented technologies to achieve stable operation of the waste treatment facility.

The city secured local residents’ agreement and private sector participation in relocating and building a new waste treatment facility. These ensured prevention of local residents’ complaints while alleviating the city’s financial resources. The city demonstrated the effectiveness of the project in reducing food waste through a citizens-led governance system.

Benefits to Other Cities 

Food intake and food waste treatment are important in our lives as they touch on environmental aspects as well as efficient use of resources. Jeonju’s food waste project was adopted by South Korean governments as the “Volume-Based Food Waste Fee System” in 2012. As such, it became the national standard which local governments in South Korea have to follow, and, as rapid urbanization is accompanied by an increase in the amount of food waste, could be an essential policy for cities and countries seeking governance of food waste. Additionally, the resulting reduction of greenhouse gases through the reduction of food waste and its conversion into recycled resources is an important measure for environmentally sustainable development on our planet.