SK Telecom (CEO Yoo Young-sang) is applying AI to reduce single-use plastic cups, raising expectations that it will be able to innovatively solve waste disposal problems using AI in the future.

SKT announced on the 4th that it is participating in the 'Seoul City Reusable Cup Pilot Project' jointly promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government (Mayor Oh Se-hoon) and the Happy Connect Foundation.

SKT and Happy Connect plan to launch a reusable cup service starting on the 6th at about 20 coffee shops in the Jung-gu and Jongno-gu areas near Seoul City Hall, which have high foot traffic. Customers purchasing beverages at pilot stores can pay a deposit of 1,000 won, select a reusable cup, receive their drink, use it freely inside and outside the store, and then receive a refund of the deposit through an unmanned reusable cup return machine.

The unmanned reusable cup return machines are installed not only at coffee shops participating in the pilot project but also at locations such as the Seoul City Hall lobby and the Euljiro SKT Tower. After using AI to analyze whether the reusable cup inserted by a customer is the designated cup, the deposit is returned in cash or points.

Returned cups undergo disinfection, high-pressure washing, and sterilization drying processes so that they can be reused in stores, and are then supplied back to coffee shops. You can search for stores where reusable cups are available and return locations, as well as earn points, through the eco-friendly app 'Happy Habit'.

SKT and Happy Connect expect that if the number of participating stores in this Seoul pilot project steadily increases, approximately 1.2 million disposable cups can be replaced with reusable cups during the three-month project period. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to expand the project to the entire city of Seoul after verifying its effectiveness following the pilot project.

SKT and Happy Connect have established a collaborative system with partner companies equipped with expertise in AI, cleaning, and resource recycling to implement the return, collection, and cleaning processes, which are cited as obstacles to the widespread use of reusable cups.

SKT was responsible for the data loading, training, and distribution based on Vision AI to enable unmanned reusable cup return machines to accurately recognize designated cups. As a result, the machines can identify reusable cups eligible for deposit refunds and provide a function that minimizes obstacles to cup loading by recognizing foreign substances, leftover beverages, and lids.

Lee Jun-ho, Head of ESG Promotion at SKT, stated, “We plan to continuously improve various ICT solutions, such as AI analysis technology applied to the process of using and collecting reusable cups, to develop the service into one that all Seoul citizens can use safely and conveniently.”