South Korea's environment ministry said Nov. 23 that it will ban the sale of plastic bags at convenience stores and the use of plastic straws, disposable cutlery and cups at restaurants and other establishments from Nov. 24. However, during the one-year transition period, violators of the new rules will not be punished for the time being.
South Korea has banned the sale of single-use plastic bags in shopping malls with a floor area of no less than 3,000 square meters and supermarkets with an area of no less than 165 square meters since 2019. The new rules were introduced to add retail establishments such as convenience stores and cake stores, which is the first time in nearly four years that South Korea has expanded the scope of application of the plastic ban.
Previously, all convenience stores in Korea had stopped providing free plastic bags and instead provided them to customers at a unit price of about 100 won (about 0.53 yuan) for a fee.
According to the new rules, from the 24th of this month, department stores and other large stores will be banned from drip-proof disposable umbrella plastic covers; restaurants, cafeterias and other food service establishments will be banned from paper cups, plastic straws, plastic stirring sticks and other disposable utensils; sports facilities will be banned from plastic cheering utensils.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of Environment decided earlier this month to set a one-year transition period for expanding the scope of the plastic ban because of "reducing the burden on store operators". Some convenience store chains have been preparing for the upgrade of the plastic ban since last month.
