Plastic Flowers, Stop on Gyeongnam Line Inje! ... 'Nation's First' Agreement Signed to Eradicate Artificial Flowers in Park Cemeteries

177 Tons of Floral Waste Disposed Annually, Promoting Eco-Friendly Memorial Culture and Supporting Flower Farmers' Coexistence

Gyeongsangnam-do, the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam branch of the National Association of Park Cemeteries, the Korea Floriculture Self-Support Fund Council, and the Yeongnam Floriculture Horticultural Cooperative signed a business agreement to eradicate the use of plastic artificial flowers in park cemeteries.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Se-ryeong] On the 19th, Gyeongsangnam-do signed a business agreement to eradicate the use of plastic artificial flowers in park cemeteries with the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam branch of the National Park Cemetery Association, the Korea Floriculture Fund Council, and the Yeongnam Floriculture Cooperative.

The signing ceremony was attended by Ha Byung-pil, Vice Governor of Gyeongsangnam-do, Choi Chi-gwang, Advisor of the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam branch of the National Park Cemetery Association, Kim Yoon-sik, Chairman of the Korea Floriculture Fund Council, and Kim Sung-kwan, President of the Yeongnam Floriculture Cooperative.

According to Gyeongnam Province, approximately 177 tons of artificial flowers containing synthetic fibers and heavy metals are generated annually within the province, and problems arise as burning or burying artificial flower waste can adversely affect the environment and human health.

The province established measures to eradicate the use of plastic artificial flowers throughout park cemeteries in the province to promote an eco-friendly memorial culture and eliminate the use of artificial flowers, marking the first such agreement at a metropolitan level nationwide.

Through this agreement, Gyeongnam Province will provide administrative support such as publicity for changing residents' awareness and practice, monitoring, and performance management.

The partner organizations will participate in reducing plastic waste emissions by using fresh flowers and develop products to promote fresh flower sales.

A provincial official stated, “Individual agreements will be made by cities and counties with park cemeteries not affiliated with the National Park Cemetery Association, and continuous publicity will lead to the use of fresh flowers. We aim to spread an eco-friendly memorial culture and achieve carbon neutrality by reducing plastic waste.”

He added that continuous follow-up management will be conducted to establish improvement measures for the stable settlement of artificial flower eradication, along with promotional activities to improve residents' environmental awareness.

Vice Governor Ha said, “This agreement will serve as a model of win-win cooperation that benefits local floriculture farms. The province will transition to a plastic-free society to realize carbon neutrality by 2050 and will continuously cooperate with related organizations to develop environmentally friendly social contribution plans.”

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