Saving environment with "packaging diet"

우리나라는 포장 다이어트 열풍... 아이스팩도 재활용

There is a trend in Korea aimed at making the country and the planet a more sustainable place... beginning with eco-friendly packaging.
Our Cha Sang-mi explains how this trend is changing the online shopping industry.
Online shopping has become a new norm in Korean households, with the industry worth more than 94 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.
Korea Integrated Logistics Association says that, in 2013, 1-point-5 billion boxes were delivered annually, rising to over two billion in 2016... and topping 2-point-5 billion last year.
Targeting trash produced from such boxes, a new trend of "packaging diet" is in vogue -- cutting down on materials that harm the environment.
Masking tape takes nearly a hundred years to decompose, so one company designed boxes that don't need the tape.
"Working in the parcel delivery service industry for 12 years, I thought it would be so much more convenient for people if there were boxes without tape. So I structured that box in my head and pitched the idea, and my brother designed it with me."
The brothers' flagship product, just as the company name, is the wing box.
Small 'wings' on the sides of the box come with ecological hot melt adhesives,... harmless for people and the environment.
Going a bit further,... delivery service company 'Hello Nature' has developed a returnable delivery box called "The Green Box".
"The major feature of Green Box is it's ability to be returned, unlike conventional boxes. Also, you open the box with a zipper instead of tape and it doesn't need plastic or air buffers to keep products fresh."
And to recycle ice packs; Seoul's Gangdong-gu District has installed ice pack collection boxes.
"We began the campaign this March, when we signed an agreement with Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corporation and a civic environment group. (cut) The civic group goes around and cleans all 18 installed boxes a week, and we continue to raise awareness of the campaign."

"There are 17 other collection boxes like this throughout Gangdong-gu District. Residents can come and throw in their ice packs whenever they like. These ice packs are then collected every month to be reused.”
The local government is thinking of reusing the collected ice packs at local markets to keep fresh fish or vegetables cool.
Cha Sang-mi, Arirang News.