[Edaily Reporter Kim Eung-tae] Life solutions company #Coway has unveiled its "Zero Food Waste Disposer" targeting 1.5-person households. The company’s strategy is to target the small-home market by highlighting its ultra-compact design—tailored to the small kitchens of compact homes—along with low-noise operation and a convenient rental service.

Coway’s Zero Food Waste Disposer is a product optimized for “1.5-person households” consisting of one or two people. The 2L capacity model is designed with a width of 18.9 cm, allowing it to be installed effortlessly in the small, unused space next to a narrow kitchen sink.
Considering small living environments where the kitchen and living areas are close together, noise levels have also been minimized. With a low-noise design averaging 18.7 dB (decibels) in storage mode, it can be used comfortably even in studio apartments or officetels. It comes in three colors—Porcelain White, Mild Pink, and Dark Gray—allowing users to choose a color that matches their kitchen interior and personal taste.
Recognizing that many 1.5-person households consist of dual-income couples or young professionals just starting out, the appliance is equipped with automatic features to reduce maintenance burdens. The “Safe Storage Mode” is a prime example. For one- or two-person households where the amount of food waste is small, making it impractical to run the machine daily, it’s common to worry about odors or spoilage while storing food waste for several days. The Safe Storage Mode hygienically stores food waste for up to seven days and performs 10 minutes of high-temperature heating daily to prevent spoilage. Even if the user forgets to start it manually, the machine automatically switches to Standard Mode after a set period to dry and grind the food waste.
Maintaining the interior of the unit is also simple. Equipped with a high-temperature cleaning function, the inside of the drying chamber can be easily maintained. The vapor channel through which steam passes can also be removed and washed separately. Additionally, the “UV-C sterilization” feature applied to the vapor channel eliminates 99.9% of invisible bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella.
When using the Zero Food Waste Disposer through a rental service, consumables such as deodorizing filters are delivered regularly according to their replacement schedules. The drying drum, a key component for food grinding, is replaced once free of charge during the rental period.
Coway introduced this product with these features in mind, considering the trend of increasing one- and two-person households and shrinking living spaces. According to the National Data Agency, the number of single-person households exceeded 8 million for the first time in 2024, accounting for 36.1% of all households. Recently, the Seoul Metropolitan Government estimated that 1.5-person households account for 66% of all households in the city and has included a strategy for the supply and demand of small housing units in its population policy implementation plan.
A Coway spokesperson stated, “The Zero Food Waste Disposer is a product designed with changes in household structures and kitchen environments in mind,” adding, “We plan to continue introducing products and services that cater to the diversifying lifestyles of our customers.”