Seoul seeks to calm rush to buy rubbish bags over fears of shortage amid Middle East war

Follow our live coverage here.

SEOUL – South Korea’s energy minister on March 30 sought to ease fears over shortages of plastic rubbish bags after sales in Seoul jumped nearly fivefold due to energy supply concerns sparked by the Middle East war.

South Korea is a major importer of oil and related by-products used to make plastic and a vast array of other items, and household rubbish can only be disposed of in special bags sold in shops.

The Seoul city government told AFP that daily sales of the bags surged nearly fivefold to 2.7 million last week, and major retailers have imposed limits on how many customers can buy.

“There is no need to worry about the supply of standard garbage bags,” Energy Minister Kim Sung-whan said on social media on March 30.

“There is ample capacity to use recycled raw materials, meaning there will be no supply issues for more than a year,” he said, adding that there would be no price hike.

Even under the worst-case scenario, the government would consider allowing general plastic bags to be used as waste bags, he said.

“You will never be in a situation where you are forced to store garbage at home.”

Most of South Korea’s oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively shut by Iran since the US and Israel began attacking the country on Feb 28.

This prompted the government of Asia’s fourth-largest economy to introduce caps on fuel prices – a first since 1997 – and prepare a “wartime” supplementary budget worth 25 trillion won (S$21.3 billion).

The South Korean authorities have also urged people to save energy, including by taking shorter showers, walking or cycling more and charging mobile phones during daytime hours. AFP