The nation of South Korea focuses a lot effort on protecting the environment, and one part of that is recycling. Recycling here is divided into four categories: 1) hard cardboards; 2) glass, 3) plastics and 4) food waste. Any other items that are not included in these categories can be thrown into the regular trash. In Chicago, my neighborhood does not recycle like other parts of the city, so coming to Korea essentially taught me the benefits and hardships of recycling.
Koreans are so conscientious about recycling that many recycling bins in popular areas or even tourist attractions are at times so full that people have to use the area around the bin to recycle. This creates piles of recyclable items that at times crowd the street until being picked up early in the morning.
Recycling is a big of Korean culture and society. Children are taught to sort the items according to their recyclable materials and at designated places. Many items have markings letting people know exaclty which part of the item belongs in which recycle bin or if they are even recyclable at all.
