Starbucks Korea Expands Paper Carton Collection to Cheongju, Upcycles into Goods
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
Starbucks Korea is expanding its pilot paper carton collection program from Daejeon to include about 90 stores in Cheongju. Since launching in October last year, the program collected about 46 tons of cartons, which were turned into upcycled goods like notebooks and postcards (업사이클링: 새활용). Starbucks separates collected cartons into milk cartons (simple pulp-based) and aseptic cartons (complex layers including aluminum); milk cartons are processed into recycled paper containing about 30% milk carton fiber and remade into eco-friendly products. The company says the effort — equivalent to planting roughly 900 trees in environmental benefit — highlights how small changes in household sorting can turn waste into new resources.
