Type a food-related household item to see whether it belongs in food waste, general trash, or needs a local rule check.
Important: Food-waste rules can vary by city or district in Korea. This checker gives a direct answer for items that are well supported by current official guidance, and uses Local rule check required only when the answer genuinely depends on location or disposal method.
Food waste checker
Exact approved item names and aliases are matched. Unknown items are not silently mapped to a similar-looking item.
Result
Enter an item above to check its current V1 classification.
Verified V1 database
The lookup database has been expanded before publication. It uses approved aliases rather than broad keyword guesses.
View supported V1 items
Food waste
- Plain cooked rice — 밥 / 쌀밥
- Rice porridge — 죽
- Noodles — 면 / 국수
- Bread — 빵
- Rice cake / tteok — 떡
- Apple flesh — 사과 과육
- Apple peel — 사과 껍질
- Apple core — 사과 심
- Banana flesh — 바나나 과육
- Banana peel — 바나나 껍질
- Pear flesh — 배 과육
- Pear peel — 배 껍질
- Grapes — 포도
- Strawberries — 딸기
- Tangerine / orange flesh — 귤 / 오렌지 과육
- Fresh tangerine / orange peel — 귤 / 오렌지 껍질
- Watermelon flesh — 수박 과육
- Fresh watermelon rind — 수박 껍질
- Melon flesh — 멜론 과육
- Fresh melon rind — 멜론 껍질
- Mango flesh — 망고 과육
- Mango peel — 망고 껍질
- Napa cabbage / cabbage — 배추 / 양배추
- Lettuce — 상추
- Cucumber — 오이
- Carrot — 당근
- Radish — 무
- Potato — 감자
- Sweet potato — 고구마
- Zucchini — 애호박
- Pumpkin / squash — 호박
- Green onion leaves — 대파 잎
- Bean sprouts — 콩나물
- Mushrooms — 버섯
- Onion flesh — 양파 속
- Garlic cloves — 마늘 알맹이
- Corn kernels — 옥수수 알
- Kimchi — 김치
- Cooked vegetables / namul — 나물 / 익힌 채소
- Cooked rice dishes — 볶음밥 / 비빔밥 등
- Noodles with sauce — 양념 면
- Side-dish leftovers — 반찬 남은 것
- Soup / stew solids — 국·찌개 건더기
- Boneless meat scraps — 뼈 없는 고기 / 살코기
- Fish flesh — 생선살
- Tofu — 두부
- Cooked egg contents — 달걀 내용물
- Cheese — 치즈
General trash
- Eggshells — 달걀 껍데기
- Animal bones — 육류 뼈
- Shellfish shells — 패류 껍데기
- Crustacean shells — 갑각류 껍데기
- Hard fruit pits — 단단한 과일 씨 / 핵
- Hard nut shells — 견과류 단단한 껍질
- Onion skin — 양파 겉껍질
- Garlic skin — 마늘 껍질
- Corn husk / stalk — 옥수수 껍질 / 대
- Tea grounds / tea bags — 차 찌꺼기 / 티백
- Coffee grounds — 커피박 / 커피찌꺼기
- Green onion roots — 대파 / 쪽파 뿌리
Local rule check required
- Fish bones — 생선뼈 / 생선가시
- Dried fruit peel — 말린 과일 껍질
- Doenjang / gochujang (paste itself) — 된장 / 고추장
- Food-processor residue — 음식물처리기 감량 부산물
- Cooking oil — 폐식용유
Preparation does not change the classification
For items already accepted as food waste, local guidance may tell you to remove excess liquid or moisture, remove dirt or foreign material, rinse salty residue, or cut large soft fruit or vegetables into smaller pieces.
Preparation does not turn an excluded item into food waste. Classification comes first. Preparation comes after.
Food waste or general trash is not the same as how you put it out
This checker answers: What is this item classified as?
Your building or municipality may separately determine the bag, container, RFID system, sticker or chip, place, or time. Check your building notice or local district guidance for collection method.
When should the result say “Local rule check required”?
Use Local rule check required only when official sources show that the answer is genuinely location-dependent or disposal-method dependent.
In this V1, that includes fish bones / fish spines, dried fruit peel, doenjang / gochujang paste itself, food-processor residue, and cooking oil.
What should happen if the item is not in the database?
The checker shows Not in current database, keeps the original item name, and points you to an official local check. It does not nearest-match unsupported items.
Unsupported in V1: soup / broth liquid, generic sauce / curry sauce, yogurt / liquid dairy, mixed kitchen waste, apple seeds as a standalone search, and avocado peel.
Why the “animals can eat it” rule is not enough
That shortcut can explain some exclusions, but it is not reliable enough to classify every item. Use the database result first.
Where to check the local rule
Use your city or district waste page, local sanitation or resource-circulation department, the national household-waste separation portal 분리의 정석, or an official local waste service where available.
What this checker does not cover
This V1 does not cover business or commercial-kitchen waste, batteries, electronics, medicine, bulky waste, general recycling categories, packaging rules outside the food-related item question, or automatic geolocation-based legal-rule inference.