Ministry of SMEs and Startups Joins Hands with Ministry of Environment to Establish Reusable Products Usage Culture

Brown Bag Meeting Held on the 20th

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young) announced on the 20th that it held a brown bag meeting in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment (Minister Han Hwa-jin) to discuss measures to reduce the burden on small business owners and establish a culture of using reusable products.

At the meeting, leaders of small business associations such as Oh Se-hee, President of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise, Kang Seok-woo, Executive Vice President of the Korea Franchise Industry Association, Kim Soo-bok, Secretary General of the Korea Food Service Industry Association, and Ko Jang-su, Chairman of the National Cafe Owners Cooperative, as well as small business owners running restaurants and cafes, participated together to convey voices from the field.

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (sixth from the left) is taking a commemorative photo with Minister Han Hwa-jin of the Ministry of Environment (to Minister Lee Young's right) and other attendees at the brown bag meeting held on the 20th in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, aimed at establishing a culture of using reusable products.

On the 7th, the Ministry of Environment announced the 'Disposable Products Management Plan,' aimed at alleviating the management burden on small business owners and reducing disposable products through voluntary public participation. However, there remain challenges such as deriving specific incentives to encourage voluntary participation on the ground and establishing continuous growth plans for the alternative products market.

Accordingly, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Environment decided to join hands to harmoniously promote the two policy goals of easing the management burden on small business owners and protecting the environment by resolving policy tasks together.

First, they discussed incentive measures for excellent stores that have reduced disposable products. The Ministry of Environment proposed that when it designates excellent stores using reusable products, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups would link financial support by applying preferential interest rates on small business policy funds. Additionally, the Ministry of Environment plans to expand support for reusable containers and dishwashers through its reusable container distribution support project.

Next, they discussed support measures to help alternative product manufacturers secure stable competitiveness. The Ministry of Environment proposed measures to secure stable demand from stores that have been using alternative products to maintain sales channels, responding to requests from industries such as paper straw manufacturers.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups proposed supporting alternative product manufacturers who have experienced sales declines with management difficulty funds next year and linking efforts such as market development, process efficiency, and technology development to strengthen mid- to long-term competitiveness. Additional discussions were held on ways for small business owners and alternative product manufacturers to coexist.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Environment plan to concretize the tasks discussed on this day and prepare measures to establish a culture of using reusable products that balances small business owners and the environment. Minister Lee Young stated, "We confirmed that easing the management burden on small business owners and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive goals but policy objectives that can be harmoniously pursued," adding, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will also mobilize available policy tools to lead the voluntary reduction of disposable products by small business owners."