Hansol Paper announced that on the 15th, it signed a business agreement at its Daejeon plant with the Ministry of Environment, Kakao, CJ Logistics, and Maeil Dairies for a pilot project on carton package collection using online platforms. This agreement aims to establish a virtuous cycle system that efficiently collects paper cartons via mobile platforms and recycles them into high-quality paper products.
Paper cartons, which use high-grade natural pulp mainly for packaging milk and juice, have a recycling rate of only 22.7% as of 2023, with sterilized cartons at a mere 1.5%. In the pilot project, participants can request paper carton collection through the Kakao platform, with CJ Logistics handling the collection by parcel delivery. Maeil Dairies will provide coupons for purchasing their products to those participating in the collection. Hansol Paper will play a key role in recycling the collected cartons into high-quality recycled paper products, such as whiteboard.
Hansol Paper’s Daejeon plant is the largest whiteboard production base in the country, utilizing recycled pulp for about 90% of its total production raw materials and producing eco-friendly recycled pulp through dedicated facilities for application in various paper products.
The Ministry of Environment plans to use this agreement as an opportunity to develop customized collection models for major paper carton waste sources, such as coffee franchises, and continuously push for institutional improvements. They also expect to encourage public participation by adopting a collection method suitable for the non-contact consumption environment.
Hansol Paper CEO Han Kyung-rok stated, “Paper cartons made from high-grade natural pulp can become high-quality raw materials upon recycling, reborn as various paper products. Through this pilot project, we aim to establish a virtuous cycle system for paper carton collection and recycling, contributing to the realization of a sustainable resource circulation society.”