Ganghwa County Prepares Household Waste Management Measures as Seoul Metropolitan Landfill Closure Approaches

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Ganghwa County announced on the 7th that it is preparing measures for collecting and processing household waste ahead of the closure of the Seoul Metropolitan Landfill in 2025.

The county's household waste emissions have increased significantly, from 8,725 tons annually last year to 10,088 tons so far this year, due to increased use of disposable products resulting from COVID-19, changes in lifestyle such as rural residence living, and the boom in car camping.

Additionally, following the introduction of intake quota systems at the Seoul Metropolitan Landfill and Chungra Incineration Facility this year, household waste output has exceeded processing capacity. The county has increased waste disposal costs in the 2020 supplementary budget and is separately processing accumulated waste.

In response, the county plans to establish a system for efficient and stable processing of household waste to minimize waste generation. The county will strengthen the operation of environmental supporters and install additional CCTV to prevent illegal dumping of garbage. Starting next year, the county plans to promote household waste recycling through the distribution of item-specific recycling bags, the installation of community recycling spaces (separate collection boxes), and the designation of dedicated management personnel for vulnerable areas.

Meanwhile, Incheon City is reviewing the potential use of the county's Yongjung-ri Incineration Facility as part of its resource circulation facility modernization project. The Yongjung-ri Incineration Facility was completed in 2002 and ceased operation in 2011. This decision was made to reduce costs because waste generation was lower than processing capacity at the time, resulting in low incineration facility operation rates, and all waste could be processed using the Chungra Incineration Facility.

A county official stated, "Despite this situation, a local media outlet describes the suspension of incineration ahead of an impending garbage crisis as desk-bound administration that fails to look even 10 years ahead," and "by raising problems without offering alternatives and making malicious reports, they are only causing confusion among residents."

The official continued, "Among basic administrative units, the Seoul Metropolitan Landfill Corporation's intake ratio compared to total quotas has already exceeded 70% in the first half of this year for many areas, and all local governments nationwide are working to prepare garbage disposal measures," and "we urge residents to take special care in properly separating and disposing of garbage."