How Are Detached Banners from Songpa-gu Repurposed?

Songpa-gu Recycles Banners for 15 Years... Distributes About 7,000 Recycling Products Annually
Seo Gang-seok, District Mayor, "Will Implement Creative and Innovative District Administration to Protect Residents' Safety and Urban Environment"

Reusable Shopping Bag

Where do all those numerous banners spread across the city go?

From 9 a.m. every day, the sound of a sewing machine goes “drreuk drreuk.” When entering the Ogum-dong Goods Management Center in Songpa-gu, you see a pile of banners with unevenly written advertising phrases for apartment move-ins.

Cutting the colorful banners and putting them into the sewing machine quickly produces a shopping bag. Waste banners, which are a nuisance causing urban aesthetic degradation and releasing environmental hormones when incinerated, are transformed into handbags for Songpa-gu residents.

Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) has been producing and distributing shopping bags, handbags, aprons, and more using banners generated in the area for 15 years.

In reality, banners created at great cost and effort face the fate of being “discarded” once their promotional period ends. These discarded banners are difficult to recycle and are mostly incinerated, releasing harmful substances that negatively impact the environment.

In response, since 2008, the district has been collecting waste banners and using those that are undamaged to produce about 7,000 recycled products annually, which are provided free of charge to local residents.

In particular, after seeking ways for residents to easily use recycled banner products in daily life, the district began producing shopping bags and handbags made from banners. This year, 2,130 shopping bags were produced, and 1,275 have been distributed to community centers.

Ms. Park Yang-geum, who has been reforming waste banners at the Ogum-dong Goods Management Center for eight years, explained, “Because they are used for various purposes in daily life, we prioritize cleanliness when selecting banners and mainly produce shopping bags and handbags. Especially, many orders come from groups such as daycare centers and schools for plogging trash collection bags.”

Additionally, depending on residents’ requests and the season, the district produces agricultural tarps, sacks, aprons, fan covers, and weed trimmer shields, reducing disposal costs and preventing environmental pollution.

A resident who received a shopping bag said, “Using a bag made from banners when shopping is sturdy and very convenient. Last summer, I also received a colorful and pretty fan cover, which I used very usefully. I hope these recycled products continue to be provided to residents.”

The remaining banners are entrusted to waste disposal companies to be shredded and used as cement materials for solid products. This means all waste banners are recycled.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “Recycling banners is essential for activating resource circulation and protecting the environment,” adding, “We will continue to carry out creative and innovative district administration to protect residents’ safety and the urban environment.”

Meanwhile, on October 19, the district established an ordinance to eradicate “legitimate banners with hateful, defamatory, and insulting phrases” and is taking the lead in solving the problem of indiscriminately scattered political party banners throughout the city.

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