Gyeongsangnam-do is joining forces with professional sports clubs including the NC Dinos and Gyeongnam FC to introduce reusable containers at stadiums. The goal is to reduce plastic waste by about 80,000 items in the second half of this year alone by cutting the use of disposable products at Changwon NC Park and Changwon Football Center.
Gyeongsangnam-do signed an "Agreement on the Supply of Reusable Containers at Stadiums" on Monday at the provincial government conference room with the NC Dinos, a professional baseball club, and Gyeongnam FC, a professional football club, both of which own dedicated stadiums in the province. Officials from the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office and Changwon City also attended the signing ceremony, agreeing to cooperate in building a resource circulation system at stadiums and establishing an eco-friendly cheering culture.
The core of the agreement is establishing a cooperation system among institutions to supply reusable containers at dedicated professional sports stadiums. Gyeongsangnam-do will handle administrative, financial and institutional support and promotion, while Changwon City will build and operate the infrastructure for collecting and washing reusable cups. NC and Gyeongnam FC will introduce reusable containers at food and beverage stores inside the stadiums and handle usage guidance and promotion.
Accordingly, Changwon NC Park will use reusable cups instead of disposable cups at 21 beverage stands starting on the 16th of this month, its first home game of the second half. Gyeongnam FC plans to continue expanding the use of reusable containers at food trucks around the stadium during home games.
This reduction target was derived by estimating 400,000 spectators at Changwon NC Park and Changwon Football Center in the second half of this year.
"We hope that the use of reusable containers will begin in earnest at professional sports stadiums in the province, spreading a culture that practices both leisure activities and resource conservation," said Park Il-woong, Administrative Vice Governor of Gyeongsangnam-do. "As resource conservation and environmental protection begin with small practices in our daily lives, we ask for the interest and participation of provincial residents in using reusable containers."
