A citizen wearing a sanitary glove receives a ballot on the second day of early voting for the presidential election in Seoul on March 5, 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Excessive waste has risen as a new issue at voting booths nationwide following the presidential election on Wednesday.
A local waste disposal site near one of the voting booths in Gangseo District in Seoul was filled with disposable plastic gloves used at the voting booth.
Plastic gloves were seen littered throughout small flower gardens and streets near the voting booths.
A voting booth in Seoul’s Yangcheon District had garbage cans full of plastic gloves.
The National Election Commission instructed all voting booths to distribute plastic gloves to voters following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response, environmentalists have raised criticism that the nationwide use of plastic gloves may encourage environmental damage.
In a press release from the Korea Zero Waste Movement Network prior to the elections, the environmental organization urged the public “not to use plastic gloves, and instead use hand sanitizer to prevent COVID-19 infections,” asking voters to “protect the environment by refraining from using plastic gloves.”
The civic group said that approximately 88 million plastic gloves will be thrown away if all of the voters use them at the voting booths.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
