BPA Signs Business Agreement for 'Busan Port Development Project Without Waste Resources'

PET Upcycling Resource Circularity Contributes to Local Government Senior Job Creation

Successful Pilot Project ... Expansion of Entire Resource Circulation System at Busan New Port

Busan Port Authority (BPA, President Kang Jun-seok) signed a business agreement on the 28th with Busan Dong-gu Senior Club and Elephant Factory to create a "Waste-Free Busan Port Project" aimed at achieving carbon neutrality through PET resource circulation and creating eco-friendly jobs for the elderly.

Busan Port Authority.

Since 2021, BPA has been conducting a resource circulation project by repurposing discarded PET bottles from its headquarters and Busan Port International Passenger Terminal to produce daily necessities such as blankets and towels, which are then donated to vulnerable groups in the local community.

Last year, BPA signed a business agreement with Hanjin Busan Container Terminal (New Port Pier 3) and jointly collected 3.27 tons of PET generated within the port through a pilot project.

The collected PET is finely crushed and goes through the production process of flakes, staple fibers, and fabric to be reborn as various daily necessities.

Last year, BPA produced and donated towels and safety vests worth approximately 10 million KRW.

Among the agreement parties, Elephant Factory is responsible for producing flakes from PET collected at Busan Port and manufacturing and supplying finished products using recycled fabric that has undergone intermediate processing.

The "Waste-Free Busan Port Project" also creates jobs for local elderly people.

Preprocessing tasks such as removing labels and foreign substances, which are necessary for PET recycling, are handled by Busan Dong-gu Senior Club. The frequency of this work, previously conducted once a week, will be expanded to three times a week this year.

After successfully completing the pilot project at New Port Pier 3 last year, BPA plans to expand the resource circulation system through PET upcycling to the entire Busan Port this year.

To this end, BPA has signed agreements with six container terminals at Busan New Port and plans to jointly promote projects for upcycling waste generated within the terminals, as well as campaigns and publicity to activate resource circulation.

Lee Sang-kwon, Head of Construction at BPA, said, "Creating a waste-free Busan Port is a win-win project that contributes to local job creation and reduces greenhouse gases. This year, as more terminal operators participate in resource circulation, we expect even greater achievements."

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