Convenience store chain CU will become the first in Korea to ban the sale of plastic bags and will move to a more eco-friendly option by next year.

From Korea Bizwire:

CU will use environmentally-friendly paper bags certified by the Ministry of Environment and made of biodegradable plant material. The eco-friendly paper bags can biodegrad within 180 hours in soil at a temperature of 58 degrees Celsius.

Prior to the announcement, CU had already started using eco-friendly bags at 150 stores across the country in April.

After going through a transition period of using both plastic bags and eco-friendly bags, CU plans to require all of its 15,000 convenience stores throughout the country to use only eco-friendly bags by April next year.

The eco-friendly bags will be sold at a price of 100 won (US$0.09). CU customers can also rent a reusable shopping bag at a price of 500 won.