A New Use for Mailboxes
In the past, internet access and email services did not exist, so people wrote letters and sent them through mailboxes. Nowadays, however, people rarely write letters, and so, many mailboxes in Korea are becoming underutilized.In response, Korea Post* recently came up with a new way to utilize mailboxes. It announced that some will be used to collect single-use coffee pods. These plastic or aluminum capsules often get discarded after use and pollute the environment.Starting later this year, people will be able to acquire a specially-made sack from the post office for their used coffee pods. People should put them in the sack after removing the coffee grounds from them.When the filled sack gets placed in the mailbox, a post-office worker will pick it up and send it to a recycling center. Furthermore, people will be able to dispose of expired medicine through mailboxes in a similar manner.For the new service, Korea Post will install new, bigger mailboxes with two slots. One slot will be for regular mail and small parcels. The other will be for used coffee pods and medicines that have gone past their expiration date.
Questions:
1. What is happening to many mailboxes in Korea?
2. What new purpose will some mailboxes serve?
3. What should people do with used coffee pods before putting them in the sack?
4. What will Korea Post do with the filled sacks?
5. Do you use mailboxes often? Why or why not?
What other things could we recycle using mailboxes?
