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STORY: UNEP / REPUBLIC OF KOREA PLASTIC SOLUTIONS
TRT:7:36
SOURCE: UNEP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / KOREAN / NATS
DATELINE: 28 MAY 2025, MANILA, PHILIPPINES / JEJU ISLAND, REPUBLIC OF KOREA / SEOUL, REPUBLIC OF KOREA
MANILA, PHILIPPINES
1. Various shots illustrating plastic waste pollution in Manila, Philippines.
JEJU ISLAND, REPUBLIC OF KOREA
2. Drone shots, Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. The shots show Jeju Island’s natural beauty and diversity, final two shots show Jeju Island recycling facility.
3. Various shots, the Haenyeo diving facility and the Haenyeo diving off the coast of Jeju Island. Haenyeo divers are female fisherman who catch fish by free-diving. Haenyeo diving has been a way of life on Jeju Island for centuries. The Haenyeo divers also help keep Jeju’s waters clean by removing plastic waste from the ocean.
4. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Jang Youngmi ,Haenyeo Diver
“It’s [the ocean is] our garden, so we have to keep it clean.
5. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Jang Youngmi, Haenyeo Diver
“We Haenyeo are trying to help but it’s just too much.”
Seoul, Republic of Korea
6. Various shots, designers from Sustainable LAB work on a toothbrush with a removeable head that is designed to reduce the amount of plastics and carbon emissions needed to manufacture.
7. Various shots, furniture made from recycled plastic at the Lowlit Collective studio in Seoul.
8. Various shots, students at Hongkik University in Seoul taking part in a plastic design workshop where they are taught about designing with recycled plastics. In shots 2 and 4 Jesik Choi of Lowlit Collective instructs them.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Jaesik Choi, Managing Director, Lowlit Collective:
“When using plastics in your design, it's crucial to think about the life cycle. Throwing things away is a habit and a habit can be redesigned. Design has the power to reverse the story. So that’s why we call ourselves a repurposing studio, not upcycling because we can repurpose, we can redesign the plastic itself and also people’s habits as well.”-
Jeju Island, Republic of Korea
10. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Heenam Lee, Public Officer:
[Standing in front of a community recycling center on Jeju Island]
“There are about 200 centers like this across the island. Each one serves everyone within a 500-meter radius—and you can even earn money by recycling. Let’s take a look.”
11. Various shots, the interior of the recycling center as a Jeju resident drops off items to be recycled.
12. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Heenam Lee, Public Officer:
“You come into the center and everything is organized by category. PETs [Polyethylene Terephthalate], vinyl, paper bags. Different things can be sorted here. You can recycle cans in the center. We can also recycle clothes and styrofoam and then reuse them. [00:07:29:21] With this simple action you can turn plastic into money.”
World Environment Day will be marked on 5 June 2025, with the Republic of Korea as the official host—its second time leading the global celebration.
This year’s focus is on solutions to plastic pollution, spotlighting upstream actions like rethinking product design, promoting reuse systems, and embracing circularity.
Jeju Province has been chosen as the host location. Home to Jeju Island, the province is aiming to become a Zero Waste Island by 2040. Through bold policies and innovative technologies, Jeju is working to drastically reduce plastic use and improve waste management systems.
World Environment Day is a platform for accelerating action. In 2025, it calls on everyone—governments, businesses, and individuals—to act now and #BeatPlasticPollution.
