Eunpyeong-gu Operates 'Tax Refill Station' for Senior Employment

Eunpyeong-gu Operates Senior Job Project ‘Detergent Station Earth’…First Among Local Governments

Detergent Refill for Vulnerable Groups Bringing Recyclable Containers…Installed and Operated at 8 Locations Including Senior Welfare Centers

Business Agreement with Aekyung Industrial to Support Detergents Worth Approximately 500 Million KRW

‘One Stone, Three Birds’ for Senior Jobs, Carbon Neutrality, and Vulnerable Support

Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) announced that it is the first local government to promote the senior job project ‘Detergent Station Earth’ to practice carbon neutrality.

Detergent ‘Refill Stations’ are installed in the Eunpyeong area, and seniors participating in job programs are assigned to support vulnerable groups such as recipients and near-poverty households who bring recyclable containers by providing refill detergents and carbon neutrality education.

The detergent ‘Refill Station’ is the first of its kind implemented by a local government.

To promote the project, the district signed a business agreement with Aekyung Industrial on the 1st of last month. In response to the increasing demand for detergent container reuse, it was decided to operate detergent ‘Refill Stations’ linked with senior jobs.

Aekyung Industrial will sponsor daily necessities worth about 500 million KRW, including laundry detergent and dish detergent, to Eunpyeong-gu over the next two years.

The ‘Detergent Stations’ will be installed at a total of eight locations, including senior welfare centers and food markets in the Eunpyeong area, and 18 seniors who have completed separate environmental education will be assigned.

Through ‘Detergent Station Earth,’ the district expects to recycle about 12,000 1-liter plastic containers annually. It also anticipates forming a carbon neutrality practice alliance with 1,500 vulnerable households who have signed the carbon neutrality pledge.

There were many difficulties in promoting the ‘detergent refill’ project due to the lack of clear standards or regulations related to detergent repackaging under current laws. The district sought advice and cooperation from related agencies such as the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and after collaborating with the district health center, it derived simplified regulations to enable the promotion of the ‘detergent refill’ project.

A senior participating in the ‘Detergent Station’ project said, “The satisfaction of users visiting the refill stations is high. Although the method of refilling detergent may be somewhat inconvenient, everyone actively participates in saving the environment.”

Mayor Kim Mi-kyung said, “I hope that the detergent station project will serve as an opportunity to widely spread the zero waste movement to reduce carbon emissions.”