Football fans clean up Seoul Plaza, littered with trash from fans cheering for the national football team in their match against Nigeria in the World Cup, Wednesday. / Korea Times file |
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff reporter
On Wednesday morning just after the South Korean footballers made it to the round of 16 after pulling off a 2-2 draw with Nigeria at the World Cup, some of the nation's major streets were filled with mountains of trash.
From plastic balloons to cans, bottles, styrofoam placards and other discarded items, one thing that was clear was the group cheering had left massive amounts of garbage at major plazas around the country.
There were several exceptions, or signs of hope. Some cheerers in Seoul stayed up long after the game had ended and helped clean up the mess. Some of the major spots in the capital city such as Seoul Plaza, Bongeun Temple or Hangang Park near Banpo Bridge were left relatively clean.
"Things are getting better. When we were defeated by the Argentineans, there was more litter, but I see many people bringing their own bags to take care of their garbage," an official at the Seoul city government said. "Some celebrities handed out waste bags and asked people to join in the cleaning up process. Many seemed enthusiastic," he added.
Still, big question remains: Why make waste?
According to the Seoul city government, the amount of garbage collected from Seoul Plaza, near Bongeun Temple, World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong and Hangang Park amounted to 135 tons. It is about half of what all residents in Seodaemun District of Seoul dispose of in a day.
Considering that the street cheering lasts about six hours or less, the disposing of waste is at a serious level, analysts say.
"Adding up the garbage from all over the nation, the amount of trash created during the World Cup period is tremendous. I will say the World Cup is actually harming the nation in terms of the environment," said Kim Mi-hwa, head of the Korea Zero Waste Movement Network.
She blamed corporations as the major culprit behind the waste disposal. "The official sponsors are distributing plastic balloons, pompoms and other items on the streets as well as their leaflets and advertizing goods. They are all disposable," she said.
Kim, who held a "Clean World Cup Cheering" campaign in 2002 and 2006, said the food people eat or newspapers they bring as mats aren't really a problem because most of it is recyclable. She said more people are taking responsibility for the waste they have created and are taking care of it afterwards.
"We will request the official sponsors and others responsible to refrain from handing out disposable cheering items on the streets and pay more attention to environmental issues," she said.
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