To control the nation’s growing problem with food wastage, the South Korean government has started a unique initiative — “Pay as You Trash”. According to the initiative, the South Korean government has some methods in place to charge citizens for the food thrown away. One is through an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) card — when users tap this card over a specially designed food waste bin, the lid will open. This waste is automatically weighed and recorded in the user’s account. The user needs to settle this bill every month.

The second billing method is through pre-paid garbage bags. These specially designed bags are priced based on volume. For instance, in Seoul, a 10-liter garbage bag costs around 190 won(韩元) (less than $1). There’s also a bar code management system in place, in which residents throw food waste directly into composting bins and pay for it by purchasing bar code stickers attached to the bin.

Nearly every residential area in the nation is equipped with one of these payment systems. Even before the pay-by-weight system was introduced, South Koreans were still being charged for food waste — the cost was simply divided equally among the residents of each apartment block. The new system is not only fair, but is also designed to make consumers really feel the pain of excessive waste. The more food they throw out, the more they end up paying.

Thanks to the initiative, residents like Seoul housewife Ms. Kwan are now adopting creative methods to avoid food waste. She makes sure to strain all the liquid out of leftover food before throwing it away. While preparing vegetables, she tries to use as many the eatable parts as possible.