How to throw away kimchi-making (kimjang) waste in Korea

Where it goes

Or: General waste bag 종량제 봉투 — see the steps below.

1. Cabbage hearts, radish greens, soft vegetables, salted cabbage and seasoned cabbage: food waste.
2. Cabbage leaves with soil on them, onion and garlic skins, green onion roots, garlic stalks and chili seeds: general waste bag.
3. Salted seafood (jeotgal): soak up the liquid with newspaper or kitchen towel, then general waste bag.
4. Lots of cabbage leaves and radish greens? In Seoul, 23 of the 25 districts let you put them, drained, in a general waste bag on their own during kimjang season (November–December in 2025) — often 20 L or larger and marked 김장쓰레기. Elsewhere, check your district’s notice.

Kimjang waste is made into feed and compost like other food waste, so keep onion skins and roots out of it even when it goes in a general waste bag. In Seoul in 2025, Seocho-gu and Songpa-gu took it only in food waste bags.

Check your district. This item is handled differently in some cities and districts. Your building notice or district office website has the final word.