The government has decided to rescind the ban on disposable paper cups in restaurants.

The environment ministry announced the decision on Tuesday while also indefinitely suspending a crackdown on the use of plastic straws in cafes and plastic bags in convenience stores.

The government explained that it considered the burden on small business owners amid high inflation and high interest rates when doing away with the regulations on disposable products that were implemented on November 24 of last year, with a one-year grace period.

The environment ministry will instead seek to encourage the use of reusable cups and expanded recycling as an alternative to an outright ban on disposable cups.