<기사제목>Environment Minister Vice Minister: "Will Introduce Deposit System for Disposable Cups... Implementation Expected in 2 Years"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Hong Jeong-gi, Vice Minister of Environment, announced on the 12th, "We plan to introduce a deposit system for disposable cups," adding, "Considering the preparation of recycling measures for disposable cups, the implementation of the deposit system will be two years from now."

Vice Minister Hong held a luncheon meeting at a restaurant in Sejong City on the same day and conveyed this plan, stating, "We need to take into account the preparation period for material standards and collection systems."

Regarding the public stockpiling of waste plastic PET bottles recently promoted by the Ministry of Environment, he explained, "For recycling companies whose overseas distribution was blocked due to COVID-19, this will help with product production and cash flow," adding, "Fortunately, demand for waste plastics, centered on polypropylene (PP), has recently been recovering in China."

He also revealed plans to expand the public sector's share in the waste disposal market. Currently, the domestic waste disposal market is overly dependent on the private sector, which often causes market instability and limits the handling of illegal waste.

Vice Minister Hong said, "The law for the installation and support of public waste management facilities recently passed the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee," and predicted, "If it passes the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the plenary session next week, the state and local governments will be able to handle illegal waste through public waste disposal facilities, reducing waste crises."

As a goal he wishes to achieve during his term, Vice Minister Hong cited "promoting proper integrated water management, including unified river management."

According to the Ministry of Environment, as of June 2018, most water management functions such as water quantity, water quality, and disaster prevention were unified from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to the Ministry of Environment. However, river management remains under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, drawing criticism as a "half-baked" unification.

Vice Minister Hong stated, "Water management should be executed by one ministry to show concrete results to the public," and added, "We will make every effort to transfer water management functions to the Ministry of Environment at the National Assembly plenary session next week."

He also announced, "To systematically research wildlife and establish a system to respond to wildlife diseases, we will launch the National Wildlife Disease Management Institute (tentative name) within the first half of the year."

The building for the Wildlife Disease Management Institute was completed in Gwangju at the end of 2018 but has not yet opened due to organizational issues.

Vice Minister Hong emphasized, "Whether the director is at the bureau chief level or division chief level, the organizational structure can be changed through social consensus after the launch," adding, "If we insist only on the organizational structure, the launch of the Wildlife Disease Management Institute will be delayed too much, making it difficult to properly respond to wildlife diseases."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.