Suwon City Conducts 'Focused Inspection' on Excessive Packaging of Lunar New Year Gifts

by Lee YeongKyu

Published 24 Jan.2022 07:48(KST)

Suwon City Hall

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Suwon City in Gyeonggi Province will conduct a focused inspection on excessive packaging of gift products such as food and beverages until the 4th of next month in celebration of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Suwon City announced on the 24th that it plans to check for excessive packaging of gift sets, whose sales increase during the holiday season, to reduce unnecessary resource waste and suppress waste generation by inspecting products divided into categories such as ▲food and beverages (processed foods, beverages, alcoholic drinks, confectionery, health supplements, etc.) ▲cosmetics ▲detergents ▲miscellaneous goods (toys, stationery, etc.) ▲electronic products ▲clothing.

The city will focus on inspecting compliance with packaging method standards such as the number of packaging layers and the ratio of packaging space by product type through this inspection.

According to the Ministry of Environment's "Regulations on Packaging Materials and Packaging Methods of Products," the appropriate number of packaging layers is one for clothing and up to two for food and beverages, cosmetics, detergents, miscellaneous goods, and electronic products.

If products suspected of excessive packaging are found on site, the city plans to issue a "Packaging Inspection Order" to the product manufacturers or importers.

The targeted companies must undergo packaging inspections at specialized institutions such as the Korea Environment Corporation and submit the results (inspection reports).

If the inspection report is not submitted or violations are confirmed in the packaging inspection results, a fine of up to 3 million KRW will be imposed on the product manufacturers or importers.

A city official explained, "We plan to conduct thorough inspections to prevent unnecessary resource waste caused by excessive packaging."