Seoul Ops Bakery, “a house of quality since 1989,” located in the basement of the Lotte department store, offers tempting pastries, sandwiches and other breads. The client hesitates and chooses. At the checkout, the employee packages each of the products in plastic bags. However, most of them were already made of plastic. The operations are nothing unique. Paris Baguette, Paris Croissant… All brands do the same. Cake boxes sealed with plastic wrap often open to reveal treats wrapped one by one in plastic.
It’s an understatement to say that South Korea consumes plastic, for food, gifts and online orders. Plastic waste production increased from 9.6 million tonnes in 2019 to 12.6 million tonnes in 2022, an increase of 31% in three years. What to be surprised since it takes place in Pusan (in the southeast of the peninsula), from November 25 to 1.Ahem December, fifth and usually final round of UN negotiations on the global treaty to end plastic pollution, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5). “To achieve our climate goals and solve the plastic crisis, the only solution is to reduce plastic production”recalls Nara Kim, head of Greenpeace Seoul’s plastics campaign.
Conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol promised on November 19 at the G20 summit to support the conclusion of an agreement because, according to him, “Efforts must be made to reduce plastic pollution” for sustainable development.
At the forefront of the negotiations, Seoul is leaning, however, towards countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iran, in favor of a treaty limited to waste management and recycling. It opposes the coalition of 67 members, including the European Union (EU), which advocates an ambitious text, accompanied by the goal of reducing the production and use of plastic.
Recycling rate controversy
To say that nothing is done in South Korea about the pervasiveness of plastic would be inaccurate, even if the measures taken sometimes present inconsistencies. In 2022, a law restricted the use of single-use plastics, including straws and bags. But the text was softened in 2023 by the Ministry of the Environment.
South Korea claims to recycle 73% of plastics. However, explains Seo Hee-won, from the local NGO Climate Change Center, “This figure only takes into account the plastic waste that reaches the classification center for recycling. We do not know if they are then recycled, incinerated or deposited in landfills.” Greenpeace estimates that South Korea actually recycles only 27% of its plastic waste. The Ministry of the Environment disputes these claims, citing recycling methods and statistical calculations that vary from country to country.
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