At most university campuses, including Pusan National University (PNU), food waste is treated as general waste, leading to serious environmental problems. With no legal obligation and no separation system in place, experts recommend a multilayered approach, including agreements with local governments, dedicated on-campus infrastructure, and the introduction of reusable container delivery systems.

According to “Channel PNU,” food waste generated outside dining facilities on PNU’s Busan Campus is currently treated as general waste or flushed down toilets. A cleaning worker from one college building said that about 50 liters of food waste are produced daily in a single building, enough to fill one standard volume-based waste bag. However, aside from dining facilities such as the student and dormitory cafeterias, there are no dedicated bins or recycling systems in place.

Among the eleven universities in Busan, only three — Dong-Eui University (DEU), Busan National University of Education (BNUE), and Catholic University of Busan (CUP) — have installed dedicated food-waste-bins outside student cafeterias, convenience stores, and dormitories. DEU has placed bins in five buildings and signed a contract with an external company for unified collection. BNUE has set up household-type food waste processors in student rest areas, enabling custodial staff to collect and dry the waste on-site.

■Environmental Pollution and Labor Burden

Treating food waste as general waste creates problems that go-beyond simple environmental pollution. It creates a chain of issues, including resource loss, further environmental damage, and an increased workload for cleaning staff. According to the Ministry of Environment’s ‘Guidelines on Classification and Sorting Methods of Waste under the Waste Control Act’, food waste can originally be recycled into livestock feed or organic fertilizer through processes such as sorting, drying, and fermentation. However, when proper separation is not carried out, these opportunities are lost, and the waste is instead incinerated or sent to landfills in volume-based bags.

This directly contributes to environmental pollution. During landfilling, odors and leachate contaminate soil and water, while methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, pollutes the air. Incineration also consumes significant thermal energy, and the salt content in food accelerates corrosion in incineration facilities. A more serious concern is that food waste contaminates other recyclable materials. Ju Mun-Sol (Researcher, Korea Environment Institute), said, “Recyclables on campus are often not separated properly, so collection companies re-sort them after pickup,” adding, “Mixed disposal frequently causes other waste to be contaminated by food waste, making recycling impossible.” She continued, adding, “When recyclables are contaminated, the overall recycling rate drops, leading to increased landfill and incineration.”

Eventually, food waste that is not properly separated increases both the weight and volume of general waste, requiring more frequent collection and intensifying the workload of cleaning staff due to odors and hygiene issues. The “50 liters per day” reported by one PNU cleaning worker represents not just the amount of waste but also a daily physical burden and challenging working conditions.

■Root Cause: A Legal Gap

The fundamental reason food waste is not separated on campus lies in the lack of a legal obligation. Under Article 15 of the current Waste Control Act and Article 8 of its Enforcement Decree, the duty to treat food waste applies only to “large-scale waste generators,” including general or rest-area restaurants of 200 square meters or more and group cafeterias serving 100 or more people per day. While on-campus dining halls fall into this category, other campus buildings are not legally required to install food waste treatment facilities.

Article 3-2 of the Waste Control Act states that business owners must voluntarily strive to reduce waste and promote recycling, but this is merely a declarative clause and carries no legal force. Researcher Ju said, “General campus buildings outside dining halls have no obligation to separate waste, much like ordinary office buildings. Even though the law states a duty, no fines are imposed for violations.”

■A Four-Track, Integrated Approach

Experts argue that although the need for food waste separation on campus is clear, simply installing collection bins is not enough to ensure sustainable operation. They emphasize the importance of campus-specific systems and cooperative structures to reduce environmental harm, even in the absence of legal enforcement. Researcher Ju proposed installing small-scale processors in each building. “Since campuses are large and waste generation points are dispersed, small-scale processors can be installed per building, and the byproducts can be matured and used as compost,” she said. “However, since the byproducts are still classified as waste, prior consultation with private waste collection companies is necessary.”

Another approach is to establish agreements with local governments. Article 16 of the Waste Control Act allows local government heads to sign agreements with waste generators, and local ordinances can support such cooperation. “If a local government operates a food waste recycling facility, PNU could receive assistance for transporting food waste there,” Researcher Ju said. Although there is no legal obligation, collaboration with local governments could help build pragmatic infrastructure for food waste separation.

A third approach is creating an internal management system. However, this requires dedicated personnel and consistent operational oversight. Kim Hye-Mi (Prof. of Food Science and Nutrition, PNU) said, “If collection bins are installed in each building, dedicated staff would need to regularly check the bins and manage cleaning and collection schedules,” adding, “With current staff already overburdened, even basic maintenance such as routine cleaning or pest control would be difficult without additional personnel.”

Operational timing is another issue. Campus population decreases significantly during semester breaks. Prof. Kim said, “Food waste volume is high during the semester but almost nonexistent during breaks. If half-filled bins remain unattended, odors and pest problems could worsen,” emphasizing the need for flexible operation, such as downscaling service during breaks, temporarily removing bins, and completing cleaning and pest control at the end of each semester.

To supplement this measure, experts suggest introducing a monthly dashboard in collaboration with collection companies, publicly displaying waste volume, contamination rates, cleaning status, pest control, complaints, and return reasons. Prof. Kim said, “A system facilitating immediate responses to problems, combined with inter-college reduction challenges to encourage lower contamination rates, could be effective.”

A fourth approach is introducing reusable container return stations. Prof. Kim said that if food waste continues to rise and managing internal systems becomes difficult, the campus could collaborate with delivery platforms to adopt reusable containers and set establish return stations. “The University of British Columbia (UBC) successfully reduced single-use packaging by introducing reusable dishware and placing return stations across campus,” she said. “PNU could consider a public–private cooperation model similar to overseas examples and the Hangang Park system.”

Seoul Special Metropolitan City began operating five return stations at Yoido and Ttukseom Hangang Parks in April. According to Yonhap News Agency, the system— run in partnership with the startup ‘Itgreen’, which runs the “Return It” service—delivers food in stainless-steel containers when customers choose the “reusable container” option on delivery apps. After eating, containers are returned to a station, collected, washed, and redistributed to vendors. About 300 single-use containers were saved in one month, with a return rate of ninety-seven percent. In an interview with Yonhap News, Itgreen said, “ We plan to install return stations not only at Hangang Park but also on university campuses and in dormitories.”

PNU maintains that “non-dining buildings on campus are not classified as eating spaces and are therefore not required to install food waste disposal facilities.” However, the alternatives proposed by experts—including building-level processors, agreements with local governments, structured management systems, and reusable container adoption—are already being implemented at some universities and local governments. As eating patterns shift from cafeteria-centered meals to delivery food consumed across campus buildings, the limitations of existing dining systems have become increasingly apparent. Even without legal enforcement, it is time to consider proactive measures tailored to the evolving campus environment.

Reporter Song Min-Soo

Translated by Lim Seung-Ha