Pusan National University (PNU) SeaByeokBeol Library has been suffering from disposable plastic cups after being renovated to incorporate a cafe. People point out that the Library needs separate beverage inlets that can be sorted out, and individual students have to raise the recognition of sorting it out. 

On May 21st, a photo of 20 disposable cups piled up filled with beverages was uploaded in “Everytime,” the anonymous online PNU community. Writers pointed out that “Do not do this” to some of the ignorant SeaByeokBeol Library users. Most of the comments on the post criticized the lack of awareness of waste separation, saying, “I am embarrassed to be associated and attending school with these kinds of students.” 

The "disposable cups illegal dumping” matter worsened after the renovation of the Library’s first floor into a cafe, on April 8th. Some students placed the disposable cups in the trash can after buying and drinking the beverages in the cafe, not throwing out the remaining liquids.  Most passers-by placed them in the trash can without problem awareness because few students do not discharge disposable cups and leave them. As a result, the trash scale has been increasing every time.

There is no space in the Library where people can throw away their beverages like the a way cafe is set up. Most of the cafes, including PNU cafe “Unjukjeong,” have separately included beverage inlets to throw away the drinks or execute the form of returning the cup to the staff. But The Library doesn’t have these facilities. Kim Gun-Young (19, Dept. of Materials Engineering) said, “If students drink the beverages in the Library, we have some hassles like throwing away the left over liquids in the restroom and separating the cup holders and straws.”

The neglected garbage separation will be handled by the nine library sanitation workers. The cleaner, who has been working there for 25 Years in the library, is working 8 hours, but she is sorting out the disposable cups even after quitting time. She throws away dozens of disposable cups in a day for several hours every day. An anonymous cleaner said, “I'm so worried that if the exam period has come in June, the amount of trash will significantly increase compared to now. I want the students to pay careful attention to sorting the trash.”

After the Library renovation, some students were caught ordering and eating  delivery foods. So, the opinion that the improvement of student perception should be a priority is posed. Baek Seon-Woong (Official, PNU Library information management team) said, "I restrained students not to order food many times, but I was confused because the students kept doing it. 

Otherwise, an anonymous official of the Library Autonomous Committee said, “The cleaners are hard to throw away the illegally littered trash after Library Remodeling. We are worried that even if we posted warning signs many times, there are many people who don’t follow etiquette.”

  Reporter Hong Yun-Woo

Translated by Ji Ha-Ram