Plastic Cup Ban

[Anchor Lead]

A ban on the use of disposable plastic cups at coffee shops and fast food restaurants went to effect on Wednesday. A crackdown on the use of plastic cups was to begin on Wednesday as well, but that was postponed by one day because proper guidelines were not in place yet.

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This coffee shop is now banned from using disposable plastic cups. However, you can see them on almost every table. The production crew checked if the shop makes sure to encourage customers to use mugs.

[Soundbite] "Is it okay if it's served in a mug?"

[Soundbite] "Are you okay with a mug?"

Six of the seven shops made sure to ask their customers to use mugs instead of disposable cups. Nonetheless, most of the customers preferred plastic cups. As consumers refuse to use mugs, coffee shop owners are concerned about crackdowns.

[Soundbite] (Coffee Shop Clerk (Voice Modified)) : "Customers get upset when we serve drinks in mugs, even when we say that we can move leftover drinks to disposable cups when they leave. They say they need to leave right away, but they end up staying at the shop."

The Ministry of Environment postponed the first crackdown on the use of plastic cups at coffee shops by one day and instead distributed a list of on-site inspection guidelines. The guidelines say that coffee shop owners will not be fined for using plastic cups if their clerks notify customers that disposable cups are prohibited inside the shops and if customers say clearly that they need a take-away drink. This means that the outcome of efforts to eradicate the use of disposable cups by imposing a fine of up to two million won depends on how much customers are willing to protect the environment.