The beginning of the end of plastics pollution, what does this mean for the Republic of Korea Cities?
*This blog was written by Dr. Magash Naidoo, Head of ICLEI Circular Development, ICLEI, World Secretariat and Yesol Rhee, Circular Economy Lead, ICLEI Korea Office
Recently, the Republic of Korea hosted the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5), with the mandate being that national governments agree on a globally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. This process was initiated during the United Nations Environment Assembly in early 2022, where resolution 5.14, titled ‘End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument’ was adopted.
The previous INCs were hosted in Uruguay, France, Kenya, and Canada. Only 5 INCs or rounds of negotiation were planned, with the last planned session being hosted in Busan.
Despite the efforts of the INC Chair, the INC Secretariat, and other aspirational national governments, no agreement was reached during INC-5. Due to these differences, negotiations will go on until 2025 and more INC sessions or rounds of discussions.
But, what does this mean for the Republic of Korea Cities?
Understanding the relationship between cities and plastics is best described as complex. However, the fundamental aspects remain fairly standard across different city typologies across the world. For this blog, though, we focus on 5 important points that the Republic of Korea cities could take into account.
- Polymer and plastics industries are key to the Republic of Korea’s economy exports and as a result, a major employer. A just transition will be vitally important as we transition to a future with no plastic pollution and decreased plastic consumption.
- Enhanced focus on reuse, could provide immediate benefits at relatively low investment costs
- The cities and provinces in the Republic of Korea are already considering the issue of plastic pollution, and implementing effective initiatives, but these remain to be scaled.
- There’s a plethora of best practices from cities around the world, that could be adapted and replicated for the Republic of Korea context, without spending too many resources to reinvent the wheel. But at the same time, the Republic of Korea’s best practice can also be taken to the world, and position these cities or provinces in a leading position globally.
- Local and subnational governments can directly participate in the INC process by supporting the Local and Subnational governments’ coalition to end plastic pollution.
The polymer and plastics manufacturing industry of the Republic of Korea results in substantial greenhouse gas emissions, amounting to approximately 49.55 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent (MtCO₂e). At the same time, the industries contribute approximately 33.35 Billion USD to exports, and according to the Ministry of Employment and Labour, this resulted in the employment of approximately 250,000 in 2022.
Efforts to reduce plastic pollution and the manufacture of unnecessary plastics will have positive impacts on the environment, human health, and greenhouse gas emissions as long as alternatives do not result in negative and unintended consequences. A critical implication of this transition to a plastic pollution-free future will likely include a drastic reduction in employment potential in the polymer and plastics industries. This will also have a knock-on effect on the supporting industries. What will happen to these jobs, people and families that are sustained by this income? These considerations need to be contemplated by local and subnational governments. Furthermore, necessary social support and retraining initiatives need to be enhanced or put in place to transition investment and employees to manufacturing more sustainable materials and goods. Informal workers in the waste collection industry would also need to receive attention because they are frequently the most at risk.
Reuse within the Circular Economy can be simply described as the extended and repetitive use of a good, or infrastructure before its materials are recovered. Within the Republic of Korea context, reusable packaging can offer a substantial opportunity to reduce plastic waste. According to WWF, reusable packaging can be defined as “. . . packaging designed to be used multiple times for the same purpose for which it was conceived. While single-use packaging is designed to be thrown away after one use, reuse systems employ a circular system where packaging can be used, cleaned, refilled, and reused, over and over again. Reusable packaging is not transformed for a different purpose, and it is supported by a functional system that enables the package to repeatedly serve the same purpose”.
Many cities and provinces of the Republic of Korea are playing a leading role in addressing plastic waste and pollution. In parallel to INC-5, the Ministry of Environment (ME) and Korea Environment Corporation (K-eco) hosted the Rethinking Plastic Life Forum, which was a huge success. ICLEI participated in this forum by hosting an exhibition space, which focused on the Circular Economy offering of ICLEI as well as the Local and Subnational governments coalition to end plastics pollution. In addition, ICLEI also hosted a session where Goyang City and Jeju Province shared some of their expertise.
Vice Mayor of Goyang Special City, Park, Won Seok, shared interesting information on Goyang’s waste management system with a focus on plastic waste reduction. Partnerships with the private and civil sectors as well as citizens are seen as an important part of Goyang’s work in the space. Mayor Park provided insights into the pilot project of reusable cups that ran from 2021 to 2023, a project on reusable gel ice packs, and initiatives to increase citizen awareness.
Jeju Province organized its own session to highlight its environmental policies and strategies, including the ‘2040 Plastic-Free Jeju’ and ‘2035 Carbon Neutrality’ goals. Governor of Jeju Province, Oh Young-Hun, delivered a presentation during the session, sharing these ambitious goals and showcasing the province’s efforts toward sustainability. The session also explored opportunities for international collaboration among local governments, featuring insights from the environmental policies of Norway and the World Bank.
A good example of a Reuse initiative is the project ‘Circular City Labs (CCL) – Testing reusable packaging systems in cities’. This project is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in collaboration with ICLEI on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is funded through the BMZ Initiative for Climate and Environmental Protection (IKU).
For further information, and to sign up for the coalition, please contact:
ICLEI Korea: iclei.korea@iclei.org
ICLEI World Secretariat: Circular.Development@iclei.org
