[Major Initiatives by Local Governments Related to Banner Resource Circulation]

○ (Enactment of Banner Recycling Ordinance) In December 2023, Paju City in Gyeonggi-do became the first in the nation to enact an ordinance related to the use of eco-friendly banner materials and the promotion of waste banner recycling. In line with the government’s expansion of support for waste banner recycling projects since last year, a total of 75 local governments across the country have now established similar ordinances, significantly strengthening the institutional foundation.

○ (Banner Recycling) 1) Jincheon-gun in Chungcheongbuk-do signed an agreement with local companies to produce 72 benches and tables from approximately 18,000 collected banners, which were then installed at public buildings within the area. 2) Seo-gu in Gwangju, in collaboration with Gwangju Shinsegae Department Store, created 250 children’s safety umbrellas from collected banners and distributed them to six elementary schools in the area for students to use freely. 3) Dong-gu in Daejeon processed all 78,000 banners collected last year into non-woven fabric, which was then used at construction sites as construction material.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) and the Ministry of Environment (ME) announced that they will hold the ‘2nd Contest’ again in 2025 to reduce environmental pollution caused during banner disposal and to discover outstanding cases of banner resource circulation. They also plan to promote support projects for local governments.

In 2024, the total amount of waste banners generated nationwide was 5,408 tons, with a recycling rate of 33.3% (1,801 tons). Compared to 2023, when 6,130 tons were generated with a recycling rate of 29.6% (1,817 tons), the amount of waste banners decreased by 11.8%, and the recycling rate increased by 3.7 percentage points.

However, since more than half are still being discarded, there is a need to explore various methods to promote banner recycling.

In response, the government will hold the ‘2nd Waste Banner Resource Circulation Culture Promotion Contest’ from April 16 to May 16, dividing the competition into categories for local governments, public institutions, and public-private partnerships, continuing the initiative from last year.

Through the contest, collaboration between local governments and private recycling companies has expanded. As a result, the number of local ordinances related to waste banner recycling increased from just five before last year’s contest to 75, effectively boosting local governments’ efforts in recycling waste banners.

To encourage greater participation from the public sector, this year’s contest will expand eligibility beyond local governments to include public institutions. The number of awards will also increase, with the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award and the Minister of Environment Award each expanding from one to three.

Organizations wishing to participate must submit their major waste banner recycling achievements and plans to the ME by May 16. Six outstanding teams will be selected by the end of September through do.cument review and performance evaluation by a panel of experts. The contest procedures can be checked on the ME website (https://me.go.kr).

Meanwhile, as a result of last year’s contest, Paju City won the Grand Prize (Minister of the Interior and Safety Award) in the public sector, and Gyeonggi-do and Lotte Mart won the Grand Prize (Minister of Environment Award) in the public-private partnership sector.

Paju City enacted the nation’s first ordinance related to the use of eco-friendly materials for banners and the promotion of waste banner recycling, creating a foundation for the nationwide spread of such initiatives. 

Gyeonggi-do and Lotte Mart recycled waste banners generated at Lotte Mart stores in the region into items such as plaza stage panels and benches, which were then donated to traditional markets to promote coexistence with local small businesses. 

The government will continue to promote the ‘Waste Banner Recycling Support Program,’ which not only recycles banners collected by local governments into items like shopping bags and sacks but also expands the production of eco-friendly banners.

At the end of last year, the MOIS provided a total of KRW 1.4 billion in funding to 75 local governments across the country through a demand survey. 

In April of last year, a total of KRW 1.5 billion in funding was also provided, and local governments recycled the collected banners to produce approximately 690,000 sacks, 250,000 shopping bags and aprons, and about 27,000 eco-friendly banners.

In addition, to make banner recycling more systematic, the government plans to prepare and provide a ‘Guidebook for the Use and Recycling of Eco-friendly Banners’ to local governments, in collaboration with the Korea Out of Home Advertising Center and the Korea Natural Resource & Economic Research Institute.

The guidebook will include information on how to process collected banners, the status of recycling companies by region, types of recycling, and examples of best practices.

Noh Hong-suk, Director General of Balanced Development Support Bureau at the MOIS, stated, “Together with relevant institutions, businesses, and organizations, we will actively work to discover and continuously support various recycling-related projects, ensuring that a locally centered banner circulation system becomes firmly established.”

Kim Go-eung, Director General of Resources Circulation Bureau at the ME, stated, “We will encourage active participation from local governments and recycling companies to ensure that waste banners are transformed into new products, and we will also focus on supporting the development of technologies for high-quality recycling.”

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

Contact person: Gina Lee, foreign media spokesperson

Phone: +82-44-201-6055

Email: gcjgina @gmail.com