Extension of Grace Period "Burden on Small Business Owners and Consumer Inconvenience"
Paper Straw Company "Survived the Grace Period Crisis... Facing Mass Bankruptcies"
The government’s decision to continue allowing the use of disposable items such as plastic straws and paper cups in restaurants and cafes has led paper straw manufacturers to appeal that they are facing a crisis of bankruptcy.
The Ministry of Environment’s announcement to withdraw the ban on disposable item usage was made on the 7th. The original policy to ban the use of paper cups inside restaurants was established in 2018, and the grace period for the ban on disposable plastic straws and stirring sticks was scheduled to end on the 24th. About two weeks before the full implementation of the policy, the government declared an indefinite extension of the grace period.
The Ministry of Environment stated that this measure was taken considering the burden on small business owners amid rising prices and high interest rates, and judged that sufficient social consensus within the community had not been reached during the one-year grace period.
In response, paper straw manufacturers are demanding the cancellation of the extension of the grace period for the plastic straw ban and survival measures. Lee Sang-hoon, director of public relations at Nuridaon and spokesperson for the 'Paper Straw Survival Measures Council' formed by these companies, appealed, "The inventory of member companies alone amounts to 140 million units. We need to exhaust this inventory."
On the 16th, Lee appeared on YTN Radio’s "News King with Park Ji-hoon" and said, "Following government policies, we have invested in facilities and our monthly production capacity is about 270 million units," emphasizing, "Emergency policy funds must be provided immediately, and practical measures to resolve this issue are necessary."
He also claimed that paper straw companies are on the brink of mass bankruptcy. Lee said, "Since 2018, we started on the premise that plastic straws would no longer be used according to government policies, and we continued investing in facilities accordingly. We have endured each crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the grace periods through financial loans, but now the maturity dates have arrived," adding, "Many companies have heavily depleted even the personal credit of their representatives."
Lee also refuted the Ministry of Environment’s reasons for extending the grace period, citing "small business cost burdens" and "consumer inconvenience." He pointed out, "Regarding cost burden, although there is variation by store, on average about 1,500 to 2,500 units are used per store. The price difference between paper straws and plastic straws is about 5 to 7 won, so the additional cost burden from using paper straws is at most around 20,000 won."
He continued, "The inconvenience issue seems to be discussed mixing domestic and imported products. It is upsetting to hear imported low-cost products being mixed with domestic ones," emphasizing, "People don’t say that paper cups taste like paper. Domestic manufacturers have been striving to improve food-grade quality, so such problems do not exist."
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