Pollution reduction and reuse

Pollution reduction and reuse: Korea Post and Philip Morris Korea to launch e-cigarette recycling program in 2026

On December 16, the Postal Service Division of the Ministry of Science and ICT of South Korea announced that it would sign an agreement with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, the Environmental Foundation, and Philip Morris Korea (PMK) for the postal recycling of e-cigarette devices.

According to the agreement, starting in January 2026, consumers can place used PMK e-cigarette devices in designated recycling bags and drop them at nearby post office counters or mailboxes set up nationwide. The designated recycling bags will be provided by the post offices.

The recycled e-cigarette devices will be collected centrally through the postal delivery network and transferred to recycling and processing companies for further processing. The specific locations of mailboxes nationwide can be found on the "Internet Mail Office" website.

Previously, due to the lack of unified recycling standards and convenient processing channels, discarded e-cigarette devices on the market were mostly discarded as ordinary garbage or placed randomly. This recycling system launched through multi-party cooperation aims to reduce environmental pollution and the risk of device abuse caused by illegal disposal and improper disposal, and to increase the recycling rate of materials, including rare metals, in order to promote the development of a circular economy.

In this collaboration, PMK will be responsible for the funding and support required for the construction and operation of the recycling system. The Environmental Foundation will be responsible for public awareness campaigns and event planning to increase public participation. The Postal Service will leverage its nationwide postal logistics network to manage the overall recycling process. The Climate, Energy and Environment Department will provide administrative support and promote the improvement of relevant systems and policies to facilitate recovery and utilization.