Ganghwa County Declares Next Year as "First Year of Waste Reduction and Illegal Dumping Zero"

[Suwon Ilbo=Correspondent Seo Dong-young] Ganghwa County announced on the 13th that it has declared next year as "the first year of waste reduction and illegal dumping zero" and will concentrate all administrative efforts to achieve this goal.

This move comes as waste reduction has become essential due to the implementation of a total intake cap system resulting from usage limits of the Metropolitan Landfill and wide-area incineration facilities, coinciding with Incheon City's announcement on the 12th of basic plans for establishing eco-friendly resource and environmental facilities in preparation for the closure of the Metropolitan Landfill in 2025. The county aims to take the lead in waste reduction practices.

To this end, the county will improve waste discharge and collection systems and promote new policy initiatives to reduce waste and achieve zero illegal dumping. It will prioritize spreading public consensus through various promotional activities and inducing citizen participation to lead a citizen-driven campaign for a cleaner Ganghwa County.

Particularly, next year the county has set targets of reducing illegal dumping waste by 10% and improving recycling rates by 15% compared to this year. To achieve these goals, it will invest a total of 2.3 billion won across 3 major strategies and 14 detailed implementation tasks.

Additionally, the county will implement a residential waste disposal site registration system to prevent indiscriminate dumping, and will expand CCTV installation to monitor illegal dumping of construction waste along roadsides.

Along with this, the county will install 20 Clean Gardens in habitual dumping areas without registered disposal sites to improve residents' living environment.

To avoid indiscriminate enforcement and fines, the county will operate environmental supporters to guide and educate residents on proper garbage disposal methods, and will install 50 Recycling Neighborhood Plazas, which serve as decentralized separation facilities in clustered residential areas.

To maintain the cleanliness of Recycling Neighborhood Plazas, the county will employ dedicated managers called resource managers. It will replace existing garbage collection vehicles with compactor trucks and expedite the introduction of dedicated recycling collection vehicles to increase recycling rates. Additionally, through amendments to waste management ordinances, the county will abolish the use of 100-liter volume-based garbage bags and make efforts to create a safe working environment for sanitation workers.

To continuously promote the waste reduction campaign, the county will operate a one-organization-one-district dedicated system with leadership figures in the region including village heads, resident autonomy committees, and Saemaul leaders, aiming to encourage voluntary citizen participation.

A county official stated, "Small actions in individuals' daily lives are the best way to reduce garbage generation," and urged residents to "refrain from using single-use products and practice thorough waste separation such as bottles separate, cans separate, and PET bottles separate."