The city of Incheon reduced single-use waste by 2.7 tons after successfully establishing a reusable-container circulation system at a large-scale music festival. The 190,000 reusable containers supplied were returned at a rate of 99.6%, demonstrating that a resource-circulation system can operate reliably even at crowded outdoor festivals.
 [코리안투데이] A reusable-container return bin at the 2026 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival © 장형임 기자 |
The city of Incheon (Mayor Park Chan-dae) announced on the 3rd that it had operated 190,000 reusable containers at the 2026 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival, held from July 31 to August 2 at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park, cutting roughly 2.7 tons of single-use household waste.
Large festivals are a prime example of venues where enormous amounts of single-use plastic waste are generated in a short period. To tackle the problem, the city fully introduced reusable containers at the food and beverage booths inside the venue. As a result, 99.6% of the 190,000 reusable containers supplied during the festival were returned. The figure confirms that a circulation system spanning supply, return, collection and washing can run smoothly even at an outdoor festival.
The high return rate stemmed from a system design that prioritized visitor convenience. The city installed dedicated return bins throughout the food-sales areas and along major walkways, allowing anyone to return containers quickly and easily. The collected containers were moved to a dedicated washing facility, where they were washed and sterilized before being hygienically supplied again.
The adoption of reusable containers also helped create a more pleasant festival environment. One visitor said, ‘There were return bins everywhere, so it was no trouble to use, and it was meaningful to be able to take part in protecting the environment while enjoying the performances.’ A food booth operator described the atmosphere on site, saying, ‘At first I worried visitors might find it unfamiliar, but they followed the guidance and naturally used and returned the containers — I could see a mature civic spirit.’
Choi Myung-hwan, head of the city’s Resource Circulation Division, called the outcome very encouraging. ‘It is highly encouraging that the reusable-container system operated stably at a large event drawing so many visitors,’ he said. ‘In the past, festival waste was regarded as unavoidable, but now festival culture is shifting toward treating a reusable-container circulation system as an essential part of the planning stage.’
The achievement is significant in that a local government realized resource circulation by changing the very way a festival is run, amid a trend of tightening regulations on single-use products. Building on its experience at the Pentaport Rock Festival, Incheon plans to continue expanding the supply of reusable containers across multi-use facilities closely tied to residents’ daily lives, including sports stadiums, funeral halls and campgrounds.
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화
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