"Gwangju Must Become a Leading City for Plastic Zeroization"

Gwangju City Councilor Choi Ji-hyun Urges Action Through '5-Minute Speech'

Choi Ji-hyun, Gwangju City Council member.

Choi Ji-hyun, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan Council (Democratic Party, Gwangsan 1), urged the protection of citizens' health and the promotion of carbon neutrality through a 'Plastic Zero' policy during a 5-minute speech at the 2nd plenary session of the 329th meeting held on the 15th.

Choi stated, "Plastic, which accounts for about 26% of the waste in volume-based waste disposal bags emitted by Gwangju citizens, is a major factor in the massive greenhouse gas emissions from incineration facilities," and emphasized, "There are limits to plastic recycling alone, so efforts to reduce plastic production and consumption must be carried out simultaneously."

She continued, "With the 5th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) of the International Plastic Treaty opening on the 25th, Gwangju must also seek countermeasures for the plastic issue," adding, "To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect citizens' health, plastic use must be reduced and eco-friendly alternatives actively introduced."

Quoting recent data released by the National Institute of Environmental Research, she warned of the harmfulness of plastic, saying, "An average of 1.32 microplastics larger than 20㎛ per 1ℓ were detected, and the plastic detection rate was 88.1%."

As specific measures for Gwangju to become a leading city in plastic zero, Choi proposed ▲ strengthening regulations on disposable products ▲ minimizing unnecessary packaging ▲ encouraging tap water consumption ▲ replacing with biodegradable bioplastics.

Choi urged, "Since Gwangju has already declared itself a carbon-neutral city by 2045, it must become the nation's first leading city in plastic zero in cooperation with its citizens," and requested, "Please create a model case for solving the plastic problem through citizen participation and consensus building."