Plastic problem won't be leaving along with the lifted mask mandates

The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the plastic pollution problem, experts say. The soaring demand for single-use plastic during the pandemic has created a huge heap of plastic waste, especially due to the prevalence of online food delivery.

Plastic waste ride a conveyor belt to go though a sorting process in a recycling center in Dobong District, northern Seoul, on Tuesday. [CHUN KWON-PIL]

The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the plastic pollution problem, experts say.

The soaring demand for single-use plastic during the pandemic has created a huge heap of plastic waste, especially due to the prevalence of online food delivery.

One university student who lives alone in Seoul says they order delivery food at least three times a week. Spending more time at home became more natural and now the 23-year-old even grocery shops online, but the amount of plastic waste that comes with all the deliveries has become a cause for concern.

“The are many delivery-only restaurants now due to the pandemic, and since these delivery options have become more diverse, I usually order food instead of dining out,” the student said.

“During times like the exam period when I stay home for a longer period of time, I had to throw my recycling away three times a week.”

The amount of food delivery ordered by people in Korea rose 75.1 percent on year in 2020, according to the Environment Ministry.

According to a report published Wednesday by Greenpeace Korea and a research team at Chungnam National University (CNU), a single person would dispose of some 102 plastic cups on average in 2020, 57 percent higher than that of 2017, well before the pandemic.

This means about 74,319 tons, or 5.3 billion plastic cups, were used in 2020 in Korea, which would be just about enough to go the moon and halfway back, according to the study.

Some 84,456 tons of plastic bottle waste were produced in the country in 2020, or 109 bottles per person a year. For plastic bags, the total consumption rose to 27.6 billion bags in 2020 from 23.5 billion in 2017. The total amount of plastic bags used in 2020 would be enough to cover the total area of the city of Seoul about 13.3 times.

The government’s implementation of social distancing encouraged non-face-to-face consumption, including food delivery and online shopping, leading to a sharp rise in single-use plastics, the report says.

The total amount consumed by Korea alone adds up to 56 billion in 2020.

Recycling the waste is another concern.

Black plastic food containers are sorted manually. [CHUN KWON-PIL]

In Korea, plastics are normally recycled, incinerated or buried after going through a sorting process.

Some plastic packaging, if they are dirty or black, are usually identified by machines in the recycling center as non-recyclable. This requires human workers at the recycling center to go through the sorting process again for the black plastics.

“The number of plastic waste surged after the onset of the pandemic,” said an official from a recycling sorting company in Dobong District, northern Seoul.

“Those that are not entirely washed and that have plastic wrapping attached disturb the separation process.”

Plastic waste that cannot be recycled are usually incinerated.

“I asked why restaurants use black plastic packaging for food,” said Kim Hyun-soo, who runs a resource recycling center in Dobong District. “They said side dishes look clean when they are packed in black containers."

“Lunch boxes sold at convenience stores usually come out in black, which is difficult to be recycled,” Kim added.

According to the CNU research team, the recycling rate of plastic waste in 2021 remained at only 16.4 percent. The Environment Ministry’s rate is much higher at 57 percent, but this includes waste that were transformed to energy through incineration.

The country has lifted most indoor mask mandates and Covid-19 restrictions, but the issue regarding plastic waste is expected to continue long after.

The research team expects an average of 6,475 tons of plastic waste will be produced in 2030, 3.6 times more than that of 2010 and 1.5 times that of 2020.

“It is the government’s role to help people go back to their old habits before the pandemic,” said a spokesperson at Greenpeace.

The environmental issue is not only a matter for Korea, but also for the rest of the world.

“A strong agreement on plastic pollution should be made on an international level to get away from such pollution,” the spokesperson said.

The amount of plastic produced worldwide rose by approximately 260 times in 2021 compared to the 1950s, according to Statista.

BY CHUN KWON-PIL, CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]