Some thoughts on Design: Trash & Treasure
Sep 15, 2025
I recently got back from my first trip to Seoul. One of my favorite parts of traveling is noticing cultural differences, and since starting Terra, waste and trash have gone from background details to some of the first things I notice.
The most powerful systems rely on a combination of culture, habit, and enforcement. And while it’s unrealistic to think we could/should copy a model, we can definitely learn from other places and take some nuggets that may be portable to the US.
Fewer bins everywhere and having to carry your trash until you’re home. (Seoul had under 5,000 bins citywide and recently approved adding 2,500 more this past year. They disappeared when SK introduced a ‘pay-as-you-throw-away’ system. Contrast this with NYC’s 50k+ public bins.)
Takeout comes with an up charge, nudging people to linger and enjoy Seoul’s abundant café culture instead. The third space culture is vibrant, and this pricing model definitely encourages slowing the ‘throwaway’ culture.
Restaurants and airport cafés frequently ask you to leave trash at the counter rather than self-disposing (and sometimes it’s right near where you pick up the food).
Strict sorting: Friends living in apartments and condos described feeling stressed by the rigid recycling rules, strict schedules, CCTV monitoring, and the risk of fines. They noted that they’re often forced onto someone else’s timeline, such as having to wait until the designated recycling day just to bring items downstairs.
There was definitely a TON of plastic-wrapped items everywhere you turned and the consumerism of every experience adds to this. From the viral convenience store drink concoctions to individually wrapped baked goods and fruits at cafes/grocers to giveaways at department stores, the list goes on. Similar to the US, it seems single-use plastic and microplastics concerns are rising. While things felt impressively clean, the layers of plastic were a turn-off—not just for the waste and health concerns, but also because they made things like baked goods feel less fresh.
Little corners pile up due to the lack of bins around.
Seoul has run on a Volume-Based Waste Fee (‘pay-as-you-throw-away’): households pay for official trash bags, while food waste is weighed by RFID. Enforcement is strict—CCTV, fines, and public reporting all play a role. It definitely feels “big brother,” but the results are undeniable: over 95% of food waste is recycled into animal feed or fertilizer (one of the highest rates globally), and the streets I strolled were noticeably clean with fewer odors.
By contrast, California’s SB 1383 and other statewide efforts lean more on education and habit-building, reflecting America’s individualistic culture. Compliance is uneven, and outcomes vary city to city. Still, as CalRecycle and others add real enforcement teeth, we may begin to see progress closer to Seoul’s results.
As for the plastics, the observations measured up: South Korea’s plastic consumption per person is more than double that of the US, despite the meticulous approach to recycling culture.