Duksung Women's University Surveys 111 Cafes on Site... 'Reusable Cup Infrastructure' Is in Place, but 'Benefits and Guidance' Are Lacking

[Financial News] Cafes in the Dobong-gu area of Seoul have the basic facilities needed to use reusable cups, but benefits and guidance to encourage consumer participation are lacking. Duksung Women's University said on the 13th that its HUSS Climate and Environmental Crisis Response Project Group held a policy roundtable to develop the 'Dobong Green Cafe Index' at the university's Humanities and Social Sciences Building on the 10th and shared the findings of its on-site survey. About 30 people, including students, local residents, and environmental policy officials from Dobong District Office, attended the event to discuss ways to encourage the use of reusable cups in the area.
Duksung Women's University students visited and surveyed 111 cafes in Dobong-gu, finding that facilities and infrastructure for using reusable cups in the cafes were relatively well established. By contrast, systems for informing consumers about reusable cups at the ordering stage or offering incentives such as discounts were found to be inadequate.
Participants identified specific policy tasks to encourage voluntary participation by cafe owners and establish a sustainable culture of reusable-cup use. Key proposals included support for collecting and washing reusable cups, better guidance on using them at the ordering stage, expanded consumer incentives, and public-private collaborative monitoring. Dobong District plans to revise relevant environmental policy ordinances based on the discussion and use the results in future work to refine the index and review policy.
The 'Dobong Green Cafe Index' evaluates local cafes' conditions for reusable-cup use across five areas: operating practices, infrastructure, guidance, incentives, and promotion. The study is the result of students in Duksung Women's University's interdisciplinary major in Climate, Environment and Culture applying theory directly in the local community through courses in the first semester, 'Climate Crisis and the Local Community,' and the second semester, 'Environmental Protection and Law,' this year.
Kim Jong-gil, head of the HUSS Climate and Environmental Crisis Response Project Group, said, "It is highly significant that students diagnosed local environmental issues based on field surveys and data and explored practical ways to improve institutions," adding, "We will continue to support close links between the university's education and research and the local community."

[email protected] Kim Man-gi Reporter