[Anchor]
There are machines that return 10 won for every used plastic bottle you insert. More than 2,000 of them have been installed across the country. However, the problem is that this accumulated money is not properly returning to the users. The confirmed amount alone exceeds 1.2 billion won.
Reporter Jang Seon-i has the details.
[Reporter]
This is a plastic bottle collection machine located in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul.
Users enter their phone number on the screen and insert their collected plastic bottles one by one.
Ten points, worth 10 won, are accumulated per bottle.
It is a small amount, but many users collect them consistently.
[Nam Jeong-eun / Yangcheon-gu, Seoul: When you put plastic bottles here, it is 10 won per bottle. They said you can put up to 30 bottles a day, so I thought rather than just throwing them away, I should put them here, and I have been doing it consistently.]
However, the points do not instantly turn into cash.
You must accumulate a minimum of 2,000 points—meaning you have to insert at least 200 plastic bottles—to receive cash back.
Some companies only issue cash payouts starting from 3,000 points.
As a result, unclaimed or uncollected points total approximately 1.2 billion won.
The companies cite a lack of manpower as the reason.
[Representative from Company A: Gaining a minimal (recycling) experience was indeed the original purpose. Due to our staffing constraints and the sheer volume of cases, it is difficult to process and exchange every single amount down to tens of won right now.]
On the other hand, the government's carbon-neutrality points, a similar policy, are deposited once a month without such cash-out barriers.
In some regions, local governments used budgets to install collection machines, but because the operating companies went out of business, some users were unable to get their money back at all.
[Lee Hak-young / National Assembly Climate and Labor Committee Member (Democratic Party): Resource circulation support funds that should go back to the citizens have vanished into thin air. Now is the time for the central government to step in and closely track and monitor the situation.]
Since its initial introduction in 2017 to increase the plastic bottle recycling rate, a total of approximately 2,300 plastic bottle collection machines have been installed nationwide.
Institutional improvements seem necessary to further encourage public participation.
(Video Editing: Ahn Yeo-jin, VJ: Shin So-young)
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