City Hall Garbage Bags Torn Open to Reveal Recyclables in Poor Condition

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Is waste separation and recycling being properly conducted at public institutions such as Suwon City Hall? However, the findings show that proper waste separation is not being carried out.

The city's Sanitation Support Division conducted a 'Public Institution Household Waste Sampling Inspection' on the morning of the 11th at the garbage collection area on the basement first floor of the City Hall Annex. Four pay-per-use bags were randomly selected from those discharged by 19 departments to check whether recyclable items were mixed in.

As soon as the first bag was opened, plastics, disposable items, paper cups, and plastic bags with foreign substances poured out—garbage that should have been separated. Small household appliances such as mobile phone chargers were also found. Recyclable waste was discovered in 3 out of 4 bags.

One public official who witnessed the scene said, "It seems they are failing to properly separate waste to a serious degree."

The city plans to conduct waste separation and disposal education for relevant departments if recyclable items are found at 5% or more in the sampling inspection, and will manage them thoroughly until they are disposed of properly. The city is also reviewing strong measures such as imposing a waste disposal ban on the relevant departments.

An official from the Sanitation and Resources Division said, "In addition to sampling inspections, we will continue to implement projects to establish a culture of proper waste disposal by conducting inspections on waste disposal practices at public institutions under the city's jurisdiction." The official added, "If waste is properly separated and disposed of, we can reduce household waste and greenhouse gas emissions. We urge city civil servants to take the lead in environmental protection and participate."

Currently, the city has implemented a system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: if the mixture of recyclable items among garbage brought into the resource recovery facility exceeds 5%, a first warning is issued, and starting from the second detection, garbage incineration is suspended for 3 to 30 days depending on the number of times.