In this file photo, city officials are shown collecting discarded banners. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday announced a pilot project to promote the chemical recycling of waste hanging banners in partnership with chemical firm SK Geocentric Co.
The initiative involves removing strings and poles from discarded banners and sending them to SK Geocentric to determine if they can be recycled into industrial material.
Chemical recycling is a process that involves breaking down waste PET bottles into raw materials, which are then resynthesized to create recycled PET bottles that have the same quality as new ones.
Last year, Seoul’s 25 districts generated 236 tons of discarded banners, but only 39 percent were recycled into shopping bags, gunny bags, and solid-type fuels.
The pilot project will involve the supply of 14 tons of discarded banners, a volume sufficient to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 97 tons.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
