Urgent Need to Establish Temporary Distribution and Management System for Collection and Reuse
[Sinan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-kyung] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' plastic fish boxes distribution project, implemented to standardize seafood products and improve hygiene at wholesale fish markets, has been criticized for failing to meet its project goals and wasting the budget.
Seo Sam-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Yeongam, Muan, Sinan), stated, “Despite investing 4 billion KRW over seven years for hygiene and standardization, the usage rate of plastic fish boxes remains low, and neither hygiene nor standardization has shown results,” adding, “Without on-site inspections, the budget is wasted through desk-bound administration, and the project's purpose is not being realized.”
Currently, the distribution rate of plastic fish boxes is only 21%. In 2015, there were 5.9 million existing boxes in use, and although an additional 4.61 million boxes were distributed over seven years with a 4 billion KRW budget, the total number actually decreased to 5.24 million in 2021.
The usage rate of fish boxes on-site increased by only 4% over seven years compared to 17% in 2015.
It is even difficult to accurately grasp the recovery rate of the fish boxes, with some reportedly discarded at waste disposal sites. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries claims a recovery rate of about 5-20%, but due to the absence of a recovery and management system, collection is difficult and accurate status monitoring is not smooth.
Achieving the goals aligned with the purpose of the fish box distribution project also seems unlikely. Although the target was set to increase by 10% annually, considering that only a 4% increase was achieved over seven years with a 4 billion KRW investment, it is reasonable to expect that meeting the goal will be difficult.
Seo Sam-seok said, “In the agricultural sector, a focused effort with an annual budget of 12.1 billion KRW over nine years since 2013 has achieved a 94% usage rate of plastic boxes,” and criticized, “The current situation, with a small budget and lack of an efficient management system making even recovery difficult, is a project failure and budget waste.”
He continued, “To preserve the project's purpose and prevent budget waste, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries must establish an efficient management system and secure project budgets early to maximize supply volume in the shortest possible time.”
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