Yongsan-gu, Seoul, has decided to implement the ‘Cigarette Collection Compensation System’ throughout the year, which pays compensation by weight to residents who pick up cigarette butts left on the street.
According to the Yongsan-gu Office on the 9th, any Yongsan-gu resident aged 20 or older can participate in the cigarette butt collection reward system. Those who want to participate can go to the Resource Circulation Department of the district office or community service center at their residence every Thursday between 2 and 5 pm with their ID and a copy of their bank book. However, even if they are residents, those who take part in public works related to clean-up work will not receive compensation.
Compensation is earned 20 per gram when the weight of the barrels collected by participants exceeds at least 500 grams per month. If you bring 500g of stumps, you will be rewarded with 10,000 won. The weight of one Korean cigarette is 0.9g. Given that stubs are about a third of the original cigarette, you have to pick up at least 1,500 to get 10,000 won. This is equivalent to 75 packs of cigarettes. Yongsan-gu’s policy is to remove foreign objects when weighing and not to accept wet barrels.
An official from Yongsan-gu said, “There is a limit to administrative power to clean the barrels in a timely manner.”
