In mid-September, at an automated recycling station in Sinwol 7-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, residents stood holding plastic bags. They typed their phone numbers onto a screen and inserted transparent plastic PET bottles into the intake slot one by one. Each time the machine inspected a bottle with its camera and accepted it, 10 won was credited. The daily limit was 30 bottles.
Nam Jeong-eun, a resident of Sinwol 7-dong, said she started about a year ago. She was passing by for exercise when she noticed people standing in line.
"Before, I threw them all out together with other plastics on designated recycling days, but here, you get 10 won per PET bottle. They said you could put in up to 30 a day, so I thought, 'Better to put them here than just throwing them away,' and I've been doing it steadily."
She usually visits once every two to three days because she goes through a lot of bottled water. When asked about inconveniences, she immediately brought up the waiting time.
"I have to wait for an hour and a half, or even two hours at the longest. It would be much better if just one more machine were installed."
Disputes also break out occasionally, usually over who arrived first.
Kim Mi-hee, another user met in front of the same machine, began accumulating points after her daughter installed the mobile app for her. At first, she decided to bring only what came out of her own home.
"As I got motivated, I started going around to acquaintances to collect their bottles. People tell me off for doing it, but it gives me exercise and brings me joy."
Over several months, she gathered 70,000 won. When asked if she had ever transferred it to her bank account, she answered:
"No. I'm still a beginner. Not yet."
A comprehensive examination was conducted on reverse vending machine operations across 17 regional municipalities, obtained by the office of Lawmaker Lee Hak-young of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee.
The data showed 2,057 installed units. The procurement cost alone reached 44,362,900,000 won for verified cases, funded mostly by municipal budgets. What started with a single machine in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, in 2017 has now expanded past 2,000 locations, more than half of which were deployed over the last three years. Among points awarded to users,
the amount that never reached bank accounts as cash stood at 1,217,560,000 won
. This figure reflects only the numerical data submitted by local governments, accounting for 14 percent of the total.
There are two main reasons this money remained uncollected.
One is the
threshold
. Users must gather 2,000 points—equivalent to
collecting 200 plastic bottles
—before transferring them to a bank account in their own name, with some operators requiring 3,000 points.
The manufacturer cited operational burdens.
"There are staffing constraints, and from an operational standpoint, processing every transaction down to tens of won would mean an overwhelming volume of conversions."
This rule was established when the first machine was rolled out in 2017 and incorporated into terms of service in 2019. The company explained that it was initially due to bank transfer fees, noting it made no sense to pay a 500-won fee while returning 10 or 20 won. It added that with changes in primary banking partners and outside investment, transfer fees are no longer the issue. The threshold, however,
has remained at 2,000 won for seven years
.
Bringing 80 Bottles but Only Able to Insert 30The second reason is the
daily limit on bottle deposits
. Originally, there was no daily restriction. However, after complaints poured into local governments about single users monopolizing machines by inserting 300 bottles at a time, municipalities asked the operator to cap deposits, leading to a limit
mostly set between 30 and 50 bottles
.
The problem arises because elderly residents do not collect bottles in batches of 30.
"Someone brings 80 bottles, but after depositing 30, they have 50 left. They feel it would be a total waste to leave them behind, so they start entering their son's or daughter's phone number."
Customer service centers regularly receive reports about individuals inserting 90 bottles in a row. Looking up time logs reveals different phone numbers registered consecutively—belonging to family members. Points accumulated this way cannot be withdrawn because the account is not under the user's name. The issue could be resolved if their adult children register, but that rarely happens.
"Sons and daughters dislike their mothers doing this. Even when told, 'Sign up, I gathered all this for you,' young people often respond, 'How much could that possibly be worth? Just leave it.' That happens far more often."
On June 25, the manufacturer amended its terms
to stop granting points altogether to 'associate members' who only provide a phone number
, citing persistent circumvention of identity verification. Points accumulated under one's own phone number prior to the revision are held by the company and paid out once converted to full membership.
Converting requires identity verification and registering a bank account, which was the very reason many remained associate members in the first place. Points accumulated under family members' numbers cannot be redeemed even if the user converts their own account; the registered son or daughter must sign up and register their own bank account for the payout to proceed.
Germany's bottle deposit system, "Pfand," was introduced in 2003. Consumers pay a container deposit upfront when purchasing drinks, and when returning empty containers to reverse vending machines in supermarkets, they receive a receipt reflecting the returned quantity. This voucher can be used on the spot as a store discount or exchanged for cash at the register. A single PET bottle yields 25 cents, roughly 400 won. There is no threshold; even inserting a single bottle prints a receipt.
Germany also has unclaimed funds. The Federal Environment Agency estimates the return rate at 96 percent, while deposits from the remaining 4 percent—representing about 720 million containers—are retained by beverage bottlers and retailers. As of 2015, this totaled roughly 180 million euros. Known locally as "Pfandschlupf," it remains a subject of ongoing debate. However, that 4 percent consists of funds consumers chose not to redeem.
In South Korea, the 1.2 billion won includes both unclaimed money and money that cannot be claimed.
In Norway, operator Infinitum manages the nationwide system. In 2024, the deposit return rate was 93 percent, while the overall collection rate across all recycling streams reached 98 percent. The company's balance sheet carries 641.7 million kroner in deposit liability provisions.
The United States takes a slightly different approach. States including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Maine, Michigan, and Vermont require all or part of unclaimed deposits to be remitted to state governments by law. In Iowa and Oregon, the beverage industry retains the proceeds.
Michigan's figures are concrete. Department of Treasury records show that in 2025, deposits collected totaled $389.7 million, while $270.4 million was returned, yielding a redemption rate of 69.4 percent—the lowest in decades. Of the $119.2 million that went unreturned, $29.6 million was distributed to retailers, $1 million went toward Michigan State Police enforcement against bottle deposit fraud, and the remainder was deposited into the state environment department's cleanup and redevelopment trust fund. When redemption rates decline, state revenues rise, prompting local criticism that certain entities profit when the system underperforms.
Whether retained by businesses or remitted to state coffers, the destination of unredeemed funds is established by law.
In South Korea, reverse vending machine points have no such statutory provision.
Points with Hurdles vs. Points WithoutA similar system exists domestically: the Carbon Neutral Point program managed by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.
When enrolling, participants choose how to receive rewards—via bank transfer, credit card points, or digital pay points—and points accumulated over one month are disbursed sequentially from late the following month to early the month after. There is no minimum accumulation requirement. If account details cannot be verified, points are held as an outstanding balance and paid out along with back payments at the end of the month verification is completed. The expiration period is five years.
In contrast, points from reverse vending machines only reach a bank account after reaching 200 bottles, registering a verified personal account, and having the user manually request the payout. There is no expiration clause at all; the only grounds for forfeiture in the terms are account cancellation or fraudulent use, allowing the company to hold onto the funds indefinitely.
Instead, another clause exists: if the service terminates, points expire without possibility of recovery after a deadline determined by the company, with advance notice required just 30 days prior.
Plummeting PET Value Halts RewardsThe funds used to award points do not come from municipal budgets. They are financed by operators selling the collected PET bottles.
"We convert the collected PET bottles into recycled flakes and pellets to produce recycled containers, which funds the program. However, that relies on selling them at favorable prices, and market prices fluctuate constantly depending on oil prices."
When oil prices drop, virgin plastic becomes cheaper, hurting demand for recycled materials. Paying out 10 won per bottle then turns into a financial burden.
The city of Jeonju invested 740 million won to install 41 machines. The city retained ownership while delegating operations to private contractors, allowing them to keep collected PET bottles to offset operating expenses. In mid-October of last year, a contractor announced a suspension of operations. Signs were posted over powered-off machines at community service centers:
"Please understand that operations have been suspended due to circumstances facing the operating company."
The price of PET bottles, previously 1,000 won per kilogram, dropped. Recycled raw material quality also deteriorated as wire, labels, and leftover beverages entered the machines. The contractor requested operating subsidies from the city, but negotiations fell through, leading the city to terminate the contract.
One of the two operating contractors went bankrupt, while the other is involved in litigation. Approximately 470 residents were left with about 5 million won in unpaid points.
There is no way to recover them.
The machines remain standing, unable even to be dismantled, as removal also costs money. In Jeonju, it was the operating contractor that collapsed. No protective mechanism exists against unredeemed points. The manufacturer stated that legal reviews concluded it was not required to hold deposits or purchase guarantee insurance, as the points do not constitute payment instruments.
While Norway's operator maintains reserve provisions for deposits to be refunded, operators here simply record them on ledger sheets.
"We actually view these points as debt. We are exploring various angles to eliminate this liability, but the truth is there is a discrepancy between our intentions and reality."
The company said it considered refunding points in coupons, but was unable to do so after failing to meet registration standards for prepaid electronic payment instruments.
Unaccounted Balances for Half the MachinesOut of 2,057 units, only 1,104 reported specific figures for remaining point balances. The remaining 953 were listed as impossible to calculate independently, unconfirmable, lacking data, or left blank. There were also 647 instances where breakdown reports were left unrecorded. Local governments paid for the machines, yet how much was distributed to residents and how much remains uncollected exists solely on the private operators' servers.
About 10 users encountered in front of the machine were asked the same question: What is the best part about having this machine? The most common answer was that streets became cleaner. Others mentioned getting exercise or finding joy in turning discarded items into money. People continue to wait in line, even if it takes an hour and a half.
Meanwhile, the 1,217,560,000 won accumulated this way still remains locked away.
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.