South Korea will expand the scope of plastic ban
South Korea's Ministry of Environment said on the 23rd that starting from the 24th, convenience stores will be prohibited from selling plastic bags, and restaurants and other places will be prohibited from using plastic straws, disposable tableware and cups. However, during the one-year transition period, those who violate the new regulations will not be punished for the time being.
South Korea has banned the sale of disposable plastic bags in shopping malls with a building area of no less than 3,000 square meters and supermarkets with an area of no less than 165 square meters since 2019. The introduction of new regulations has added retail establishments such as convenience stores and cake shops. This is the first time South Korea has expanded the scope of the plastic ban in the past four years.
Prior to this, all convenience stores in South Korea had stopped providing plastic bags for free, but provided them to customers at a unit price of about 100 won (about 0.53 yuan).
According to the new regulations, starting from the 24th of this month, large shops such as department stores will ban disposable umbrella plastic covers that prevent dripping water; restaurants, canteens and other catering service places will ban disposable utensils such as paper cups, plastic straws, and plastic stirring rods; sports facilities Plastic cheering utensils will be banned inside.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of the Environment decided earlier this month to set a one-year transition period for expanding the scope of the ban on plastic bags, because it was to "reduce the burden on store operators." Some convenience store chains have been preparing for the upgrade of the ban on plastic bags since last month.
