Spreading Climate Action Through Carbon Zero Shop and Tumbler Donation
Seocho District in Seoul announced on June 8 that it is establishing everyday climate action as a unique eco-friendly culture for all residents, transforming itself into a 'carbon zero city'.
Amid the global trend of responding to the climate crisis, the district found its solution by working alongside residents. The 'Seocho Carbon Zero Shop', an initiative that began with residents' ideas, has become the district's flagship environmental policy as a resident-led resource circulation project.
The 'Seocho Carbon Zero Shop' project is a carbon zero activity that reduces waste by collecting items such as hangers, shopping bags, and ice packs from households and reusing them at participating stores, including laundromats and butcher shops. The district joined in what a few residents had already been doing voluntarily in their daily lives, systematizing the project by designating participating stores and providing incentives for participants.
As a result, the project, which started in three neighborhoods in 2021, is now being implemented throughout Seocho District, with the number of participating stores increasing to 523 and the operation becoming more systematic.
The district has also established a reward system called 'Good Seocho Coin'. 'Good Seocho Coin' is a system that uses a blockchain-based app to award 'Good Points' for various good deeds carried out within the district. Residents and stores receive a set amount of coins for bringing items to the Carbon Zero Shop. These coins can be used to purchase goods at the Carbon Zero Shop and are also accepted at various public facilities in the district.
The district is launching a campaign to further promote the Carbon Zero Shop. From June 9 to June 13, promotional booths will be set up at community centers and commercial areas in 10 neighborhoods, including Seocho-dong and Yangjae-dong, to introduce the 'Seocho Carbon Zero Shop'. An event will also be held where the first 100 people to bring 10 or more reusable items such as hangers or ice packs to the booth will receive a 20-liter standard garbage bag.
The 'Unused Tumbler Donation Campaign', initiated by the Green Seocho Environmental Action Group in each neighborhood to promote the use of tumblers (reusable cups), is also underway. The campaign encourages residents to share tumblers they no longer use. Using a tumbler instead of disposable paper cups can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33 times over two years and has the same effect as planting a 30-year-old pine tree. Therefore, it is important to use a single tumbler for a long time, but in reality, many people buy tumblers and do not use them often or keep purchasing new ones.
The donated tumblers will be thoroughly cleaned, packaged in eco-friendly biodegradable bags, and distributed to residents who need them at events such as barter and sharing markets.
The district stated, "At the heart of the district's resource circulation projects, from the idea for the Seocho Carbon Zero Shop to the Tumbler Donation Campaign, is the Green Seocho Environmental Action Group, composed of local residents. As environmental leaders in the community, about 200 members are actively working throughout the district to spread eco-friendly culture."
Seocho District Mayor Jeon Sungsoo said, "'Seocho Carbon Zero Shop' and the 'Tumbler Donation Campaign' are both Seocho-style eco-friendly cultures that create significant climate change through small everyday actions. By adding policy support from the district to the residents' leadership, we will complete Seocho as a 'carbon zero city'."
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