Korea Zero Waste Movement Network organized a plastic-free music and culture festival in Seocho-gu, Seoul, from September 21 to September 28. Seoripul Festival is an annual festival that Seocho-gu government has been hosting for five years to bring art and music performances in the city, attracting more than 950,000 visitors.
This year, the festival organizers announced three key rules to go plastic-free, including 1) No plastic bags, 2) No bottles water, and 3) No plastic containers at food trucks. Far before the festival, KZWMN and Seocho-gu government set implementation plans, ranging from urging visitors to bring reusable mugs and bags to working with food vendors to avoid plastic disposables. KZWMN also mobilized 1,000 volunteer applicants, 400 of who served as pre-trained zero waste captains throughout the event venue. They also raised awareness of separate collection (paper, cans, plastic, food waste), guiding visitors for better recycling.
For food and beverage consumption, event organizers installed 25 water fountains to avoid plastic bottles and paper cups, and
worked together with 50 food vendors to replace plastic with wooden sticks and paper plates (only when necessary). Next year, they will ban all single-use items and rent reusable containers.
After the festival, KZWMN examined trash and recycling bins, to realize that the amount of single-use plastics was dramatically
reduced, with cardboard boxes being the majority of the waste generated from the event.
