Yongin City Cracks Down on Illegal Dumping, Transforms Streets into Clean Neighborhoods

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun] In front of Gold Plaza at 283 Dongbaek-joongangno in Giheung-gu, where supermarkets and shops are densely concentrated, chronic illegal garbage dumping has been an ongoing problem.

In particular, with hagwons (private academies) and parks in the area, there is high foot traffic from children to the elderly, and frequent complaints have arisen due to odors from garbage and damage to the cityscape.

As illegal waste not in volume-rate trash bags was not even collected and people would dump it secretly, and cracking down on such offenders proved difficult, Giheung-gu has since April continuously guided residents to change their mindset through education.

The district installed four CCTVs to monitor chronic illegal dumping sites within its jurisdiction and hired six environmental monitors to individually identify personal information from garbage bags and provide guidance and education on proper disposal methods. Each person caught an average of 10 to 20 cases per day.

In July, food waste separation bins placed on streets were relocated inside the premises of respective restaurants to raise awareness about garbage disposal and create clean streets without odors.

After three months, the area has been transformed into a clean neighborhood free of illegal garbage.

On the 24th, Giheung-gu, Yongin City announced that through such intensive crackdowns, it has made breakthrough improvements at four chronic illegal garbage dumping sites including the location in front of Gold Plaza, in front of Goseong Post Office at 39 Mabuk-ro, in front of Reading Plaza at 39 Goseong-ro 3, and under the overpass at 237-98 Singal-dong.

The areas in front of Goseong Post Office and Reading Plaza, which had been eyesores due to accumulated garbage, have been transformed into clean streets through this crackdown, with residents expressing their gratitude.

At 237-98 Singal-dong, below Yongseo Expressway, large waste items such as air conditioners and washing machines that had been dumped were removed and garbage was cleaned up, creating a pleasant space.

A district official said, "Giheung-gu, where old downtown areas and new neighborhoods coexist, has high population density due to concentrated commercial and residential buildings, causing inconvenience to many residents even from minor illegal dumping," adding, "We will continue steady crackdowns to improve the quality of life for 440,000 residents of the district."