Gyeonggi Province and Provincial Assembly to Ban Single-Use Plastics Starting Next Year

Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province (center), is taking a commemorative photo after holding a declaration ceremony for zero single-use plastic products in the government building with the Gyeonggi Provincial Council and related organizations at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office on the 15th. Photo by Gyeonggi Provincial Office

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Provincial Council have declared a 'Single-Use Plastic Zero' initiative to reduce the use of disposable products within government buildings.

On the 15th, Gyeonggi Province signed a 'Business Agreement for the Spread of Reusable Products Culture in Public Institutions' at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office with the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, the Korea Foodservice Industry Association Gyeonggi Southern Branch, the Gyeonggi Metropolitan Self-Support Center, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Employees' Labor Union, the Public Officials' Labor Union Gyeonggi Provincial Government Branch, and the Gyeonggi Integrated Public Officials' Labor Union, among others.

After the agreement ceremony, Governor Kim Dong-yeon said, "Today is a joyful day. It may seem small, but I believe we have taken a big step forward," and added, "Gyeonggi Province aims to be the most proactive in responding to the climate change crisis. We started a campaign to use reusable cups first at the provincial government office as a way to lead by example."

He continued, "Starting January 1st (next year), the Gyeonggi Provincial Government and the Gyeonggi Provincial Council will create offices without disposable cups," and expressed gratitude by saying, "I deeply thank all the employees of the province and the council for enduring inconvenience and participating in the values of protecting the Earth, preserving the environment, achieving carbon neutrality, and addressing climate change."

He also added, "I hope that public institutions in Gyeonggi Province will also carry out the same campaign," and "I hope this movement will naturally spread to the residents of the province so that all citizens can participate."

Yeom Jong-hyun, Chairman of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, said, "It is very good that Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Provincial Council are leading the way together in achieving zero single-use plastics," and stated, "We will actively work to eliminate single-use plastics and promote the use of reusable containers in line with the purpose of contributing to the environment, climate change, and carbon neutrality."

According to the agreement, each institution and organization will cooperate in ▲ jointly developing and promoting policies to reduce single-use products through public-private cooperation ▲ providing administrative support for establishing and operating a reusable product usage system within government buildings ▲ promoting campaigns for spreading reusable product use in public institutions, including employee and restaurant promotions ▲ creating an environment for activating reusable products in public institutions by discovering and developing rental and washable reusable products to replace single-use items ▲ and cooperating in performance analysis through monitoring the implementation status and awareness improvement of the agreement.

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