Acryl boards are set up on the table between diners at a cafeteria of the Iksan City Hall in the southwestern city of Iksan on March 9, 2020, as part of measures to prevent any possible COVID-19 infections between them. (Yonhap)
ULSAN, July 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ulsan city government said Tuesday it will reutilize transparent plastic dividers that were once used to enforce social distancing measures.
The city will join hands with local manufacturing company Hanguk Mold Co. to start a project to upcycle plastic waste. It will collect used plastic dividers from public agencies and encourage citizens to throw out used quarantine products.
Hanguk Mold will upcycle the plastic waste to make clipboards, baskets and lamps.
Usisan, a social firm, will sell the upcycled goods, host crowdfunding projects for eco-friendly products and transport used plastic covers.
This year’s production of plastic dividers in South Korea has gone up by 30 percent from last year.
Ulsan reported that some 140,000 plastic dividers have been thrown away by public agencies and major commercial facilities in the city, amounting to as much as 150 tons of waste.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
