Trash bags nearly sold out: Panic buying sends sales up 200%

A notice indicating a limit on the number of trash bags available for puchase per person is posted at a large supermarket in Daegu, Wednesday. Newsis

Sales of trash bags has tripled while the purchase of food waste bags has doubled as fears spread that naphtha, a key raw material used to make plastic products, could run short due to oil supply disruptions deriving from the more than month-long Iran conflict.

According to convenience store chain CU on Wednesday, sales of food waste bags from Sunday through Tuesday rose 153.3 percent from a week earlier. Sales of trash bags jumped 216.4 percent over the same period.

GS25 also reported increases, with food waste bag sales up 182.7 percent and trash bag sales up 234.5 percent. Combined sales at 7-Eleven and Emart24 rose 169 percent and 177 percent, respectively.

Signs of hoarding of plastic products began to emerge mid-March. The timing coincided with growing concerns across the petrochemical industry that disruptions tied to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would affect oil supplies and, in turn, the supply of naphtha.

Demand for food waste bags and standard trash bags remained largely unchanged at most convenience stores earlier in the month, but sales began rising at a double-digit pace from March 15. At CU, sales of food waste bags climbed 13.8 percent from a week earlier between March 15 and 21, while sales of trash bags rose 21.3 percent.

Over the same period, GS25 saw food waste bag sales rise 20.6 percent and trash bag sales grow 9.0 percent. Sales at 7-Eleven and Emart24 also began posting double-digit growth.

Some of the standard household waste bag slots are vacant in a trash bag vending machine in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

The panic buying has reportedly nearly wiped out store inventories of 10-liter and 20-liter bags, the sizes most commonly used by households. Some stores are said to have only 75-liter bags or larger left, while others have begun limiting purchases or cutting the number of bags sold in each bundle.

Addressing the amplifying fear of vinyl shortages, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said Wednesday there is no problem with supply of trash bags as the government holds inventory of trash bags more than three months-worth nationwide.

The government’s cap on per-person purchases was a preemptive step to prevent panic buying fueled by concerns over the Middle East conflict, the official said, adding that the measure was unrelated to any supply issue.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.