Resource Circulation Day is a commemorative day designated by the Ministry of Environment in 2009 to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the global environment and recycling resources. The Ministry established it to build national awareness that waste is also a valuable resource and to promote the importance of resource conservation and recycling. Resource Circulation Day falls on September 6 each year — the numbers 9 and 6 were chosen because, reflecting the concept of "circulation," each becomes the other when flipped upside down.
The resource circulation referred to on this day means minimizing the generation of waste, recycling the waste that is produced, reducing the environmental impact of waste to the greatest extent possible, and managing the resource cycle in an environmentally friendly way. While the resources the Earth provides are finite, we generate enormous quantities of waste in our daily lives. According to the Ministry of Environment, as of 2019, illegal waste amounted to approximately 1.2 million tonnes, and plastic bag usage alone reached 25.5 billion bags. A discarded thin plastic bag takes an average of more than 500 years to decompose underground, a metal can takes 100 years, and disposable chopsticks take more than 20 years.
[Resource Circulation Day ⓒESG.ONL]
In this context, Resource Circulation Day is more than just a commemorative occasion — it is a starting point for action toward a sustainable future. Small everyday actions such as proper waste separation, reducing single-use items, and practicing reuse and recycling can accumulate into meaningful change. The time has come to put into practice the wisdom needed to sustain the Earth's finite resources, guided by the recognition that waste, too, is a precious resource.
by Editor O