[2026 Inspection] Ahn Ho-young: "Muju Festival Replaced 640,000 Single-Use Products... Reduced Carbon by 44.9 Tons"

A 37.3% Increase in Local Festivals Nationwide Over Six Years
Ahn: "Reusable Containers Must Work in Everyday Life Too"

There have been calls in the National Assembly for single-use product reduction policies to be established not just as simple usage restrictions or supplying reusable containers, but as an operational system on-site that encompasses collection, washing, and reuse.

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Ahn Ho-young, a member of the National Assembly’s Climate, Energy, Environment, and Labor Committee and a representative of the Democratic Party of Korea (covering Wanju, Jinan, and Muju in North Jeolla Province), on October 7 urged the need to establish an operational system for single-use product reduction that goes beyond merely supplying reusable containers to include collection, washing, and reuse.

According to Assemblyman Ahn, at the Muju Firefly Festival held last month, 641,470 reusable containers were used to replace single-use products, resulting in an estimated reduction of about 44.9 tons of carbon emissions.

The number of local festivals across the country is also increasing. According to the Local Finance Research Institute, the number of local festivals nationwide increased by 37.3% in six years, from 884 in 2019 to 1,214 last year. There have also been calls to expand the system of collection, washing, and reuse starting with on-site locations such as festivals, where reusable containers can be used.

Assemblyman Ahn said, “In order to reduce single-use products, it is not enough to simply create regulations. We must also create an environment where small business owners can cope with the financial and workforce burdens, and consumers can easily use and return reusable containers.”

He added, “A recovery, washing, and resupply system that can be shared by multiple businesses should be established, and the initial and operational costs for small businesses should be lowered. The government should also manage its policy performance not by how many reusable containers have been supplied, but by how much the actual use of single-use products has been reduced through collection and reuse.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.