District Mayor Yoo Bo-hwa and staff hold 'Zero Single-Use Items' campaign at district office entrance, urging employees and visitors to participate
Seoul's Seongdong-gu said it is rolling out a range of initiatives to reduce single-use plastics inside its district office and promote a culture of reusable items in daily life.
Under the "2030 Seongdong Promise! Joint Declaration on Climate Action," the district is leading by example among public institutions, running campaigns, public outreach and on-site inspections to broaden participation among staff and visitors.
On Thursday, the district held a "Zero Single-Use Items" campaign at the district office. District Mayor Yoo Bo-hwa and staff stationed themselves at the building's entrance during the lunch hour, asking employees and visitors to refrain from bringing in single-use plastic cups and encouraging them to use personal tumblers or reusable cups instead.
Promotional efforts to normalize reusable items are also ongoing. Every first Wednesday of the month, a morning announcement over the district office's internal broadcast reminds staff to bring personal tumblers and highlights a tumbler-washing machine on the first-floor cafe as well as discounts available to customers who bring their own cups. The measures are designed to make reusables convenient and to help staff build the habit into their daily routines.
The district is also tightening oversight of single-use item use inside the building. In October, it surveyed single-use item usage across the district office and conducted on-site inspections of individual departments, neighborhood community centers, public health centers and the district council.
Going forward, the district plans to ban the purchase and provision of single-use items at meetings, workshops and forums organized by each department, and to strengthen guidance and outreach so that reusable cups are used when receiving visitors.
The district is also expanding resource-recycling practices at public events. It currently supports recycling-bin installation and waste collection at district-organized events, and plans to launch a pilot program in 2027 that will cover the full cycle of reusable container supply, collection and washing.
"We will reduce single-use item use starting with public institutions, so that small actions to address the climate crisis can take root in the daily lives of residents and staff," District Mayor Yoo said. "We will continue to raise awareness and encourage the use of personal tumblers and reusable cups, both inside and outside the district office, until it becomes second nature."
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