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To reduce single-use waste, regulations to prevent the use of plastic bags and plastic straws were scheduled to come into effect at the end of this month, but the Ministry of Environment suddenly decided to suspend the crackdown for one year.

This is the third policy back this year alone.



Reporter Jang Se-man, an environmental expert, reports.



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A cafe in Seoul is using plant-based biodegradable straws ahead of the ban on plastic straws at the end of this month.



It is 7 times more expensive than plastic straws, and there are some customers who are reluctant due to the nature of it dissolves little by little when placed in water, but I wanted to convince them.



[Shim Hyeon-jeong/Cafe owner: There aren't many companies around that prepare quickly (disposable product regulation) like us.

By preparing in this way, we are also participating in the environment…

.]



The effort of this cafe paid off in vain.



The Ministry of Environment announced a plan to regulate disposable products, and it was changed from enforcement at the end of this month to a one-year grace period.



It was decided not to be fined even if it was violated, but the reason is that neither the owner nor the consumer is ready.

[Jeong Seon-hwa/Director of the Ministry of Environment: (To ban the use of disposable



products) There were a lot of opinions that it is necessary to change the on-site perception that it takes time to adapt to the field, then consumer awareness.]



Banned' was also scheduled to be extended to convenience stores and mid-sized supermarkets.



If this happens, you will have to pay for a pay-as-you-go system, a paper bag, or a multi-use shopping bag, but the crackdown was also suspended for one year.



The problem is that this is not the first time the Ministry of Environment has been tailgating the regulations on disposable products.



In March, the plan to ban the use of plastic cups in cafe stores was suddenly suspended two days before the system was implemented.



The Korea Environment Conference, a solidarity of environmental groups, pointed out that the Ministry of Environment had abandoned its original role, saying that even though there had been more than ten months of preparation after the revision of the law, it went down right before implementation.



(Video editing: Seungjin Lee, VJ: Hyunwoo Park)