자원순환 보증금제 특징 분석을 통한 1회용 컵 등 대상 확대 연구

With the integration of the ‘Beverage Container Deposit Return System’ into the ‘Resource Circulation Deposit Return System’ in Korea, there is a need to differentiate the strategies for the soon-to-be introduced deposit refund scheme for single-use cups from existing systems. This study, therefore, reviews the characteristics and implementation of deposit refund schemes for beverage containers and single-use cups in Korea and abroad to suggest suitable differentiation strategies for the single-use cup deposit refund scheme as well as plans to expand the scope of the deposit return scheme. The success of a deposit return system is highly dependent on the size of the deposit: the larger the deposit, the higher the return rate as well as the possibility of fraudulent refunds. For this reason, the scheme for collecting empty bottles, which is focused on reuse, and that for collecting single-use cups, which is mainly for recycling, should be managed separately using different collection systems. Setting a large deposit to improve the return rate will increase the consumers’ perceived market price, so it is necessary to indicate the deposit fee separately on the receipt. Also, strategies need to be considered for dealing with fraudulent refunds, which directly connect to management costs, such as whether to set a small deposit to prevent such behavior from the beginning or to set a large deposit and introduce anti-counterfeiting tools. A transparent system for managing the deposit refund scheme could be established by installing a reverse vending machine for collecting beverage containers and having a dedicated agency to manage the installation and operation of the machine directly based on real-time information.