The Secret to Seocho-gu's Ice Pack Recycling Project Success?... Surpasses 110,000 Cases

This Year, 280 Ice Pack Collection Boxes Expanded to 246 Apartment Complexes... Over 110,000 Ice Packs Recycled from 2020 to 2021 Delivered to Small Business Owners

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seocho-gu is actively promoting an ice pack recycling project to protect the environment and prevent resource waste, as the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in non-face-to-face delivery and fresh product parcel shipments, resulting in a surge in ice pack usage.

Ice packs take a long time of 500 years to decompose. Recently, as living environments have changed with the increase of single-person households, the volume of fresh food deliveries has increased, causing a rapid rise in ice pack usage. The gel-type ice packs in circulation consist of 1% superabsorbent polymer, a type of plastic, and 99% water. The superabsorbent polymer does not burn easily even under high heat, making incineration difficult and causing environmental pollution, making ice pack recycling an urgent necessity.

To address this, the district installed a total of 69 collection boxes as a pilot project in 2020, supporting small and medium-sized merchants with about 16,000 ice packs. This year, the number of ice pack collection boxes was expanded to 280 units across 246 apartment complexes.

When the district started the waste ice pack recycling project last year, the biggest concern was hygiene when reusing ice packs. To alleviate residents' concerns, six dedicated collection personnel directly select and collect ice packs from collection boxes installed in apartment complexes.

Afterward, dedicated disinfection and cleaning personnel disinfect and clean the ice packs at a separate facility, then place them in Styrofoam ice boxes and provide them to small and medium-sized merchants in need.

In this way, the district operates a one-stop system that handles ▲collection ▲disinfection and cleaning ▲direct delivery, thereby increasing trust in waste ice pack recycling.

This one-stop service initiative by Seocho-gu is providing a source of vitality to small and medium-sized merchants struggling with business due to COVID-19.

As word spread that the district’s recycled ice packs are of good quality, the number of direct inquiries from small merchants has increased. Inquiries are pouring in not only from butcher shops and fish stores but also from sashimi restaurants, small marts, and fresh food delivery companies, showing steady progress day by day. Recently, a direct inquiry came from the headquarters of a large corporate franchise, and collaboration is under review.

Additionally, responding to the rapidly increasing volume that surpassed 110,000 cases from the project’s start last year through this year, the district plans to build an additional ice pack cleaning facility and continuously expand supply to necessary businesses.

District Mayor Cho Eun-hee stated, “We are expanding ice pack support not only within Seocho-gu but also to residents who want to use recycled ice packs,” and added, “We will continue to do our best to discover various eco-friendly policies and projects, not only for ice pack recycling.”

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