One of my favorite things about Seoul, and South Korea in general, is that the community is very green! Not in the literal sense, of course, but in the sense that they love to take care of the environment. When I first arrived, I could hardly read the instructions on the trash cans that tell you where plastic and paper should go. I felt so overwhelmed at having to remember what to separate. The trash is so specifically sorted, I worried I was going to mess up and then someone would have to go into the trash to fix my mistake. However, after some time learning Korean as well as what colors and bags meant what, I was finally able to learn about recycling and I'm a huge advocate for it now!
I learned about how to recycle in South Korea! The task is rather daunting when you first come to the country. They are very adamant on separating their trash, so every trash can comes in a set for things like paper, plastic, and food waste. If you live in a certain area of Seoul, such as where I live in Seongbuk-gu, you are obligated to go to the store and buy separate trash bags in different colors as a way to pay for trash pick-up. The bags tell you in both Korean and in English what the bag is meant for. White bags are for general trash such as make-up wipes, tissues, and anything that has food stains on it such as a candy wrapper.
