By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Major retail outlets nationwide, including E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Home Plus, will give out plastic garbage bags instead of 50 won disposable plastic shopping bags, the Ministry of Environment said Tuesday.
Customers can buy the waste bags, carry their shopping items home in them and reuse them to dispose of waste from home. The bags are large and strong enough to carry 30 liters, authorities said.
The plan is expected to expand to convenience stores and smaller supermarkets in residential areas, halving the consumption of plastic shopping bags in two years.
The government said if replaced entirely, 191 million disposable plastic bags worth 9.6 billion won and emitting 7,100 tons of greenhouse gas during production could be saved annually.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
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