Korea Post, an agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT, said on Feb. 10 it is carrying out a full-scale mail-back collection service for e-cigarette devices using the nationwide post office network.

Korea Post previously signed a business agreement in December last year with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, the Korea Environment Foundation and Philip Morris Korea. Consumers can place used e-cigarette devices in dedicated collection bags and submit them at post office counters nationwide or deposit them in mailboxes. Post offices will deliver collected devices to recycling companies.

Korea Post expects the service to provide a convenient disposal route for e-cigarette devices, reducing illegal dumping and environmental pollution and expanding resource circulation. E-cigarette devices contain batteries and electronic parts, and concerns have repeatedly been raised about environmental problems if they are discarded as general waste.

Kwak Byung-jin (곽병진), acting head of Korea Post, said, "We will contribute to solving environmental issues closely linked to people's lives by using post office infrastructure," and added, "We will continue to expand eco-friendly public projects."

Korea Post also operates mail-back collection programmes using the post office network for expired medicines and single-use coffee capsules, among other items.