ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS IN CEMETERIES GO TO WASTE

[Anchor Lead]

In recent days visitors tend to bring artificial flowers instead of fresh ones that wilt quickly when visiting cemetaries . But more than 30 tons of faded artificial flowers were discarded in June alone. Maybe It's about time that we remember the dead in a less wasteful way.

[Pkg]

Many of the visitors to the Daejeon National Cemetery are carrying bouquets of artificial flowers. The faded artificial flowers are replaced with new ones.

[Soundbite] CHAE AE-YEONG(VISITOR) : "My heart aches when the flowers have faded."

All of them produce a staggering amount of waste. Artificial flowers account for about half of the waste produced at the Daejeon National Cemetery. Roughly 30 tons of these products were discarded in June alone. More than 270 tons over the past three years.

[Soundbite] (DAEJEON NAT'L CEMETERY EMPLOYEE) : "We usually get about two trucks of flowers. (Two trucks a day?) Yes."

Discarded artificial flowers are difficult to process. The leaves are incinerated as general waste, but the stems made of wire and paper must be separated and buried in the ground.

[Soundbite] (CEMETERY VISITOR) : "I haven't thought about it. I just assumed that they were separated, then processed."

It costs 40 million won a year to process the artificial flower waste.

[Soundbite] KIM IM-MO(DAEJEON NATIONAL CEMETERY) : "Students and volunteers came to help sort and discard the artificial flowers as recent as last year."

Civic groups recommend choosing a more eco friendly option to remember and honor loved ones.

[Soundbite] KIM SEONG-JUNG(DAEJEON CHUNGNAM CHAPTER, GREEN KOREA): We recommend bringing fresh flowers or flower pots to remember the deceased, then taking them back home.

The waste processing fee is expected to spike this year, as the number of volunteers dipped dramatically in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.