"We have no fish to eat because of plastic."
On the 5th, Miles Kariuki, a 9-year-old living in Kenya, sent a video message at the '2025 World Environment Day' event held at the international convention center in Seogwipo, Jeju. Miles Kariuki lamented that the surrounding seas and rivers are covered with plastic waste, making life difficult.
World Environment Day is held annually on June 5, and this year, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province was selected as the venue. This is the first time since 1997 that the event has taken place in Korea, marking 28 years. Under the theme 'Ending Plastic Pollution', the event was attended by over 1,000 people, including delegations from 19 countries, representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Wildlife Fund, and the World Transport Forum, as well as citizens.
In a gesture to solve the global issue of plastic pollution through everyone's efforts, the invitations for this event were made from recycled clam shells. The trash cans were also operated without single-use items, using only paper materials.
Lee Byung-hwa, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Environment, urged in his opening speech, "We must end plastic pollution before it ends us," and called for everyone to discard convenience and start with small actions together.
Actor Kim Seok-hoon, who appears in the waste-collecting YouTube content 'The Man from Nowhere', said, "I believe that fundamental changes are difficult unless we change citizens' lifestyle patterns." He continued, "I have a great desire to create even small changes together."
The Ministry of Environment announced the international cooperation project specializing in plastic, 'Action for Circular Economy initiative' (ACE). ACE aims to break away from a simple support-focused international cooperation framework and to solve plastic pollution through tailored projects. The Ministry plans to invest 15 billion won over the next four years starting next year.
Jung Eun-hae, Director General for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Environment, stated, "We are both victims of plastic pollution and perpetrators of it," adding, "That’s why we must resolve the plastic pollution problem ourselves."
At one side of the event venue, booths operated by corporations that recycle plastic were set up. Plastic block manufacturer Westech Global introduced plastic blocks made from recycled plastic. Generally, recycling plastic involves several processes like filtering usable containers and washing them, but plastic blocks do not require such procedures. Various types of plastic are melted together and shaped into a uniform form.
The bricks thus created weigh between 3 and 6 kg and are used to construct embankments and breakwaters. Choi Ah-yeon, the representative of Westech Global, explained, "As plastic blocks connect together to form structures, they are very strong," adding, "They can be installed along riverbanks or coastlines to prevent erosion, and more than 3,000 have been constructed in Korea."
Outdoor company Black Yak introduced the process of making clothes from transparent PET bottles. After collecting transparent PET bottles, they are chopped up and compressed until they turn white, then spun into threads. This results in Gore-Tex outerwear.
A representative from Black Yak noted, "Due to the process of collecting and washing recycled PET bottles, these products are about 20% more expensive than regular clothing," but added, "However, we do not pass that on to consumers to maintain the meaning of being eco-friendly."
On the same day, at a ministerial round table held at the Jeju Shilla Hotel, cooperation plans for ending global plastic pollution were discussed. High-ranking delegations from 11 key cooperating countries and 11 ambassadors to South Korea attended the meeting.
Bunkam Borachit, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Laos, emphasized the importance of international cooperation for the transition to a circular economy, introducing projects aimed at strengthening waste management capacity that have been promoted in cooperation with Korea.
Roberto Mito Albino, the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries of Mozambique, explained the sanitary landfill development projects carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment of Korea since 2009. He stressed the importance of solidarity and knowledge sharing to address complex environmental issues.
At the 'Future Generation Environmental Forum' held the day before, Hanwha Jin, co-chair of the Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee, and Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of UNEP, discussed environmental policies with young participants.
A young participant who identified as a student at Jeju International School stated, "The voices of youth still remain on the periphery in the government's policy-making process." In response, the chairperson said, "Young people are not just passive audiences, but agents who can help design the future of policies," and added, "We will continuously expand participation channels."
Andersen advised, "Instead of waiting for opportunities to come, take the microphone yourself and continue to ask questions and speak based on scientific facts."