Why Did Seongdong-gu Supply 'Safe Sticker' Ice Packs to Majang Livestock Market and Others?

Attach 'Ansim (安心) Sticker' to Washed and Disinfected Ice Packs to Enhance Safety and Satisfaction

A scene at Seongdong Community Self-Sufficiency Center where sanitized ice packs are being labeled with safety stickers

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) will start supplying ice packs with the ‘Seongdong-gu Safety (安心) Sticker’ to major demand sites such as markets from this month.

With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic leading to a continuous increase in contactless delivery services, the usage of gel-type ice packs, a type of microplastic, has also risen. To reduce waste and protect the environment, the district has been promoting an ice pack recycling project in collaboration with the Seoul Seongdong Regional Self-Support Center since last year.

When residents dispose of ice packs in dedicated collection boxes installed at each neighborhood community center, the Seoul Seongdong Regional Self-Support Center collects, cleans, and disinfects the ice packs, then supplies them to traditional markets and large supermarkets in the area, such as Majang Livestock Market and E-mart Seongsu branch. From July to November 2020, a total of 10,560 ice packs were supplied free of charge.

However, since some collected ice packs bore other companies’ trademarks and it was difficult to verify whether they had been properly cleaned and disinfected, demand sites expressed difficulties in reusing them. In response, the district created the ‘Seongdong-gu Safety (安心) Sticker’ to be affixed to ice packs that have undergone cleaning and disinfection before supplying them to demand sites.

The ‘Safety (安心) Sticker’ includes wording indicating that the ice packs have been safely cleaned and disinfected by Seongdong-gu Office and the Seongdong Regional Self-Support Center, emphasizing the safety of recycled ice packs and increasing user satisfaction at demand sites.

Accordingly, the usage rate of recycled ice packs with the safety sticker is expected to increase, accelerating the promotion of resource recycling, a district official explained.

In April, the district joined the ‘Citizen-led Plastic Free Expansion Ice Pack Reuse Campaign’ and signed a business agreement to activate ice pack reuse.

Furthermore, the district agreed to identify demand sites wishing to recycle ice packs and increase the recycling rate. With the ice packs affixed with the safety sticker, Seongdong-gu is now equipped to become a full-fledged resource-circulating city.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, stated, “Recyclable materials can become our valuable resources,” and urged, “I hope many demand sites will use the ice pack recycling project to reduce household waste and prevent environmental pollution caused by microplastics.”