Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority, Marine Plastic Collection Certification Achieved for 2 Consecutive Years

Published 19 Aug.2022 15:33(KST)

Establishing a Marine Plastic Circular Economy Model to Realize Social Value

Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority, Marine Plastic Collection Certification Achieved for 2 Consecutive Years

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority (President Park Seong-hyun, YGPA) announced on the 19th that it has obtained the Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) certification for marine plastic waste collection through the international certification body Control Union.

This certification is a renewal of the certification that YGPA first obtained domestically in 2021.

Many domestic institutions and companies have tried to acquire the second marine plastic collection certification in Korea, but due to difficulties in establishing a sustainable collection system and securing traceability of marine plastics, they have not succeeded in obtaining the certification.

The reason companies are paying attention to marine plastic collection certification is that, amid the recent ESG boom, there is high demand for marine plastic recycled products, but almost no suppliers in Korea provide recycled products certified as marine plastics.

Meanwhile, YGPA has been promoting a marine plastic circular economy project to realize social values such as marine environmental protection and job creation.

Specifically, ▲cracking down on plastic dumping at sea by ships together with the Coast Guard ▲collecting and sorting marine plastic waste with Gwangyang Marine Environment Co., Ltd., a bilge cleaning company ▲processing marine plastic waste and producing recycled yarn with Hyosung TNC.

Various bags by Pleats Mama and T-shirts by The North Face have been released using the marine plastic recycled yarn produced in this way.

Additionally, YGPA produced safety vests in collaboration with Songgwang Happiness Town, a social enterprise employing people with disabilities in the region, and distributed them to small and medium-sized enterprises within the port.

In particular, YGPA contributes to protecting the safety of port workers by producing lane regulation blocks using marine plastics with low utility such as ship ropes and general plastics, and installing them within the port.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is promoting a policy to expand YGPA’s marine plastic business model to ports nationwide, and YGPA is conducting consulting to spread the business model to other ports.

President Park Seong-hyun stated, “The marine plastic circular economy project is YGPA’s representative ESG management model,” and added, “We will strive to become a clean platform connecting land and sea, YGPA.”