Gangnam-gu "Please Do Not Throw Away Ice Packs, Put Them in the Collection Box"

Environmental Protection, Jobs, Small Businesses... Jeong Soon-gyun, Gangnam District Mayor, "I Will Make It the World's Best Green City"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun) has been promoting an ice pack reuse project since last month and is recently creating jobs together with the newly launched Gangnam Regional Self-Sufficiency Center Resource Circulation Business Group.

On the 19th of last month, Gangnam-gu completed the installation of ice pack collection boxes at 22 community service centers within the district. Fourteen self-sufficiency project participants, who were selected and trained in July, are collecting ice packs. The collected ice packs go through washing, disinfection, and drying processes and are provided free of charge every month to traditional markets and agricultural and fishery wholesale markets in the area. The district plans to establish this as a win-win model supporting small business owners in the future.

The superabsorbent resin mainly used in ice packs is a type of microplastic that does not biodegrade when discharged into sewage, landfilled, or incinerated, causing environmental pollution.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency, although the refrigerants in ice packs are rapidly switching to eco-friendly materials, the proportion of superabsorbent resin still reaches 40%.

District Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun said, “Since 2018, during the 7th local government term, Gangnam-gu has focused on reducing fine dust with the goal of becoming a ‘must-environment city,’ winning first place for cleanliness chosen by Seoul citizens for two consecutive years. I thank the residents who have shown high civic awareness and actively cooperated with district administration.”

He also stated, “While aiming to be a top city like Manhattan in New York, USA, and the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, we will create the world’s best green city.”

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