This image, captured from the Instagram account @klarblau_daily, shows a bundle of unused straws and a hand-written letter sent to a dairy company in February 2020.
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of South Koreans are becoming concerned over environmental damage caused by the use of plastic and disposable products as food delivery is replacing dining out following the coronavirus outbreak.
The Ministry of Environment reported a 11.2 percent (5,349 tons) increase in everyday waste over the first two quarters of this year, with plastic waste jumping by 15.6 percent, going from 734 tons to 848 tons.
In response, there are an increasing number of people stepping up to cut down on the use of disposable products.
The Korean Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) reported that more than 5,000 people signed up for the Plastic Diaries Program, an online civil participation program dedicated to the reduction of plastic use.
As part of the program, participants take photos of the plastic waste they throw away each day and post them on their social media accounts for December.
On other online communities, people are sharing eco-friendly methods to recycle protective masks, such as using them to clean bicycle chains or using masks to make a hair band.
“More people are stepping up to recycle as they directly experience waste caused by protective masks and delivery packaging following the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Baek Na-yoon, an activist at the KFEM.
“Businesses should also minimize the use of plastic packaging materials and replace them with recyclable materials.”
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
