"I paid a 100,000 won fine for throwing tangerine peels in the regular trash."
This is a common complaint found on online communities during winter. Many people mistakenly dispose of tangerine peels in regular garbage bags, but peels from tangerines, bananas, and apples must be discarded as food waste. This is because livestock can consume them. Fruit peels that can be used as animal feed or compost are classified as food waste.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, food waste is processed into compost, biofuel, and livestock feed. Therefore, the easiest way to distinguish between regular garbage and food waste is to ask: "Can it be used as livestock feed?"
Large, hard seeds from stone fruits such as peaches, apricots, persimmons, cherries, and mangoes, as well as hard shells from pineapples and coconuts, should be disposed of as regular garbage. The same applies to meat bones, eggshells, nutshells, and shellfish shells. However, tangerine peels and stems from strawberries and tomatoes are relatively soft and qualify as food waste. Watermelon rinds, though harder, should be cut into small pieces before being disposed of as food waste.
Disposing of food waste in regular garbage bags can result in fines, requiring extra caution. Fines range from 100,000 won to 1 million won depending on local government regulations.
Standards for separating food waste are determined by district ordinances. When in doubt, residents should contact their local district office (sanitation administration or resource circulation department). The "Separation and Disposal App" developed and distributed by the Ministry of Environment is also a useful reference.
