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| Writer | Kang Minjeong | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone number | ******** | ||
| Subject | There is a civil servant who reused 66,000 ice packs. | ||
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City people who cannot give up fresh food despite their busy daily lives are tamed with courier goods. Ice packs are mostly used for fresh food delivery. Ice packs containing high absorbent resin in a mushy gel form should be put in standard garbage bags. The problem is that it is not biodegradable and it is difficult to incinerate or bury. If you tear the ice pack and throw the contents into the sewer, it becomes microplastic. 210 million of these ice packs were used in 2019 alone. Since 2023, the government has changed its policy to pay a levy if it produces gel-type ice packs, but no one believes that the ice packs will be completely eliminated. Delivery companies such as Market Curly and Coupang use ice packs made by freezing water, but the freezing effect is lower than gel-type ice packs. Ice packs are thrown away or stacked in corners of the freezer or on one side of the veranda. Is there any way to collect ice packs that are difficult to dispose of and divide them again? Online cafes that share neighborhood life can easily see postings asking how to share and process ice packs. There is a public official who recognized the hearts of these citizens and established the "Ice Pack Collection and Reuse System" for the first time in the country. Choi Byung-ok, a cleaning administration officer at Gangdong-gu District Office in Seoul. He received a presidential citation last month for his "active administration." On Earth Day (April 22), Hankyoreh interviewed Choi. Choi noted Hyundai home shopping marketing techniques in Gangdong-gu in the summer of 2018. It was a method of collecting ice packs from customers and paying points. "Many environmental and garbage complaints are filed with the district office. I thought it would be a waste to throw away the ice pack, so I looked for a way. Fortunately, Gangdong-gu has a large company, an environmental group that actively participates, and a traditional market, so I thought I could circulate." It couldn't be without difficulties to create an ice pack circulation system. The most difficult thing was to secure a stable reuse site. Gangdong-gu was only able to sign a three-way agreement with the Association of Traditional Market Merchants and local environmental organizations in June last year after completing a year-long pilot project. He took business cards and found traditional market merchants and small business owners and was promised reuse. Environmental owner civic group members organize collection boxes once a week. Considering safety, 50 clean ice packs are distributing one box each after disinfection through a professional disinfection company. The response from the citizens was hot. The number of ice packs collected through collection boxes installed at a total of 18 district offices and community centers stood at 123,983 with a 62-ton scale last year. More than 15,000 were reused by traditional markets, food companies, and Hyundai Home Shopping, and more than 11,000 were reborn as air fresheners. At first, about four out of ten ice packs that were damaged or cannot be reused were collected, but now the defect rate has decreased to about 10 percent. Gangdong-gu is also discussing ways to recycle ice packs with the Korea Environment Corporation. Choi is also focusing on creating educational and rest areas such as "plastic mills," which collect plastic and reprocess it at recycling centers built by Gangdong-gu Office in Godeok-dong. "Trash is a resource and money," he said. "One more job was added to the original job, but it's worth the money. Thanks to the response of citizens who are interested in environmental issues, the system was able to settle down." |
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