SK General Chemical Signs MOU with 6 Organizations for 'Busan Port Better Resource Circulation Project'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoonju Hwang] SK Geo Centric, government agencies, international organizations, and social enterprises have joined forces to establish a circular system for waste plastics to protect the marine environment and respond to climate change.

SK Geo Centric announced that it signed the 'Busan Port Better Resource Circulation Project Business Agreement' together with Busan Port Authority, Busan Tourism Organization, Wooshisan, Innoverse, and Save the Children.

The purpose of this agreement is for the public and private sectors to collaborate in solving the waste plastic problem and to build a sustainable marine environmental conservation business model amid the increasing seriousness of climate change following COVID-19.

The six institutions participating in this agreement plan to create a resource circulation model that produces and sells upcycled products made from waste plastics collected from ships entering Busan Port and major tourist sites in the Busan area, and donates them to vulnerable groups. Busan Port is the number one port in Korea and ranks sixth globally among ports.

Nam Ki-chan, President of Busan Port Authority, said, "Busan Port Authority will discover collaborative projects with various institutions to expand ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management, including the 'Busan Port Better Resource Circulation Project Business Agreement.' Through this, we will contribute to revitalizing the resource circulation economy and creating green jobs."

SK Geo Centric plans to play a leading role by establishing a plastic resource circulation foundation and conducting campaigns to raise public awareness through this agreement.

Social enterprises Innoverse and Wooshisan, nurtured and supported by SK Innovation, are participating in this agreement to add meaning to social value creation.

Innoverse is responsible for collecting waste plastics using 'SseuSaem,' the first plastic cup separation and collection device developed in Korea. 'SseuSaem' is equipped with Internet of Things (IoT) technology that automatically cleans the collected plastic cups by measuring their condition. In addition, Innoverse will participate in fostering a proper separation and collection culture by providing waste plastic separation and collection guides.

Wooshisan produces upcycled products such as dolls and bags from collected waste plastics and operates a local resource circulation network. Waste plastics collected from Busan Port are reborn as Busan tourism products through Wooshisan. Wooshisan is a social enterprise that produces and sells plastic upcycled daily necessities to protect marine life.

The upcycled eco-friendly products are also linked to social value activities, such as being donated to vulnerable children and elderly living alone through Save the Children.

SK Geo Centric is reviewing the entire plastic lifecycle to ensure that discarded plastics circulate as resources. This agreement is part of that effort, and it is expected to contribute to raising citizens' environmental awareness and promoting plastic resource circulation.

Lee Jong-hyuk, head of the Green Business Promotion Group at SK Geo Centric, said, "SK Geo Centric will expand cooperative models for recycling discarded PET bottles and develop them into eco-friendly businesses. We will strengthen ESG management through collaboration within the value chain in the plastic recycling industry, not only creating social value by solving the waste plastic problem."

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