2024-04-11 22:30:40
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The campaign banners that were hung during the election period were left as trash.
Since most of them are incinerated, they are naturally bad for the environment. Although the government has come up with a recycling plan, there are many voices calling for reducing the use of banners in the first place.
Reporter Jeong Han-sol covered the story.
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District office employees began removing the banner early.
The process of lowering the banner using equipment, folding it, and loading it onto the truck is repeated numerous times.
A total of 60 banners were collected over a period of 3 hours starting at 7 a.m., weighing approximately 1 ton.
Most of the banners collected this way are sent to incinerators.
[지자체 관계자]
″I understand that it is more difficult to recycle election banners, especially since they contain photos (of the candidates’ faces) and sensitive text.″
Banner waste produced after elections is always a problem.
During the 21st general election in 2020, 1,740 tons of banners were produced, during the 20th presidential election in 2022, 1,111 tons, and during the simultaneous nationwide local elections, 1,557 tons of banners were produced.
More than 1,000 tons are produced every time a national election is held.
However, the recycling rate drops significantly.
During the 2022 local elections, 2.6 million banners were collected, but the recycling rate was only 24.8%.
(Source: Ministry of Environment)
Banners are generally made of plastic synthetic resins such as polyester, but they do not decompose easily when buried in the ground, and when incinerated, harmful substances are emitted and have a negative impact on the environment.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the Ministry of Environment proposed a measure to provide 1.5 billion won to each local government for banner recycling project expenses.
However, there is criticism that it is difficult to view it as an effective measure.
[허승은/녹색연합 녹색사회팀장]
″If you say it is a recycled product that is made meaningfully and well and is of good quality, it is not. They say they won’t take it even if it’s given out for free. Why does the local government spend money and taxes on that… It’s just another form of trash.″
Experts pointed out that “it is more effective to reduce the use of banners during election periods than to encourage recycling,” and that “relevant laws need to be revised for this purpose.”
This is Jeong Hansol from MBC News.
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