Food waste reduction is a globally relevant issue, especially considering the ever-increasing resource constraints. There were 1.05 billion tonnes of global food waste in 2022, underscoring the urgency to reduce food waste.
Local and regional governments have developed various tools to reduce food waste. The Seoul Metropolitan Government in South Korea implemented the Pay-As-You-Throw system, combining incentive policies and digital technologies to motivate food waste reduction.
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Project overview
The Pay-As-You-Throw system aims to fundamentally reduce the amount of waste by charging citizens who generate waste for the cost of waste management. The system applies to both food waste and general waste, with different rates and weighing methods applying to each. The fee paid by the discarder depends directly on the amount of waste discarded. It tackles both household and business waste.
The Pay-As-You-Throw system incorporates not only advanced technologies like Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) food waste weighing bins, chips, and automatic billing. Low-tech yet easily available options like standard-sized bags of various volumes with waste management fee with embedded waste management fees are also provided.
The Pay-As-You-Throw system incentivises citizens to produce less food waste by linking the volume of food waste directly to the financial responsibility. Moreover, the system encourages recycling by mandating the segregation of recyclable food waste and general waste, which is partially unrecyclable.
Below are key figures.
After the introduction of RFID smart bins, in six years
Food waste reduction: 47k tonnes
History
Seoul experienced over-consumption and over-production in the late 1980s and 1990s. Not only was there insufficient space for landfills, but the city government also bore a high financial burden from waste management.
At that time, the waste management fee was collected as a tax based on building ground areas. However, this revenue only covered 9% of the total cost. The volume-based Pay-As-You-Throw system was introduced in 1995 as a response. This approach incentivises people to produce less food waste, as every litre of food waste becomes a tangible cost.
In December 2025, Seoul launched the food waste reduction points system. Building on the Pay-As-You Throw system, the new system rewards households that cut their food waste output by giving them cash-equivalent rewards.
This points system works together with the RFID system, which tracks the food waste produced by each household and compares the trend in the amount of food waste over time. Residents who reduce their food waste by 10% to 30% or more compared with the same period a year earlier qualify for up to 5,000 points per evaluation period, worth about 5,000KRW.
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Process and methods
For food waste disposal, there are two methods for regular-sized waste and two for large-sized waste.
For regular-sized food waste, discarders can purchase the pre-paid standard waste bags in stores. This is a volume-based method that charges food waste by the litre, where the waste management fee is embedded in the price of each waste bag.
The RFID weight method is a weight-based method that was introduced in the 2000s. Discarders scan their electronic tag or card to unlock the lid of a smart RFID-bin. The bin’s internal scale measures the weight of the food scraps. Each kilogram of food waste is charged roughly 130KRW. The fee is logged to the discarder’s account and added to the monthly bill. This method is now primarily used in apartment buildings.
The RFID weight method was developed in response to several observed limitations of prepaid bags. First, the waste bag is single-use and becomes waste after each use. Second, the bag’s material, polyethene, lowers the quality of the animal feed or compost made from the food waste. Thirdly, food waste is heavier than general waste. A weight-based system therefore gives citizens a stronger incentive to reduce food waste.
For large-sized food waste, discarders can buy chips or stickers with an embedded waste management fee and attach them to their own containers. Another option is handing the food scraps to a specialised waste collection agent.
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Food waste treatment
Seoul recycles 95% of its food waste through the Pay-As-You-Throw system.
Collected food waste is pre-treated on-site. After dehydration or microorganism-based fermentation, the volume of transported food waste is decreased by 85%. The remains are subsequently treated in one of the five waste treatment facilities and converted into compost, animal feed, or biogas. This pre-treatment saved the city 8.4 million KRW in collection charges over the same period.
An important success factor is the ban on food waste in landfills since 2005 and, aligning with national policy, the prohibition of discharging food wastewater to the ocean. Not only is the food recycling supply chain well-established, but the possibility of food scraps becoming true waste is strictly prevented by law.
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Impact
According to the UN Food Index Report 2024, the global average of food waste was 132kg per capita per year across household waste, food service and the retail sector. By comparison, the average food waste in Seoul was 116kg per capita in 2025.
The food waste reduction effect varies between different collection methods. The standard bag and chip methods reduced food waste by 13% and 14%, respectively. The RFID weight method reduced food waste by 10% to 30%. Currently, 27,289 RFID units are installed across the city, covering 37.9% of all residences. Altogether, the RFID smart bins have reduced the food waste in the city by 47,000 tonnes in six years.
Conclusion
The Pay-As-You-Throw system in Seoul adopted technologies like RFID, digitalised billing processes, and fermentation. At its core, the system builds on incentivisation by explicitly outlining the cost of food waste. The system is also a prime example of how a food waste reduction strategy is an iterative process. Starting as a volume-based charging system, a weight -based approach leveraging digital technologies later emerged. In 2025, the system evolved from penalising food waste producers to rewarding those who cut down on food waste.
Local governments can use different technologies and approaches to reduce food waste. To find out the tools available, check out the following page:
