Hwaseong Regional Waste Incinerator to Break Ground in Bongdam-eup This Month; Completion Targeted for 2009

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 3rd that it will break ground on a total of four waste incinerators this year, including one regional waste incinerator.

The waste incinerators to be constructed are the Hwaseong Regional Waste Incinerator, which will process waste from Osan and Hwaseong areas, along with facilities in Pocheon, Gapyeong, and Yeoncheon.

The Hwaseong Regional Waste Incinerator, to be built in Bongdam-eup, Hwaseong, will have a daily processing capacity of 300 tons and will break ground this month with completion targeted for December 2009. The Pocheon Incinerator, also to break ground this month, will be completed in the Manse Bridge area of Shinbuk-myeon with a processing capacity of 80 tons by December next year.

The Gapyeong Incinerator (project cost 13.5 billion won, 40-ton capacity) to be built in Sangsaek-ri, Gapyeong County, will break ground in October with completion in October 2009. The Yeoncheon Incinerator (project cost 17.3 billion won, 49-ton capacity) to be built in Daejon-ri, Cheongsan-myeon, Yeoncheon-eup, is scheduled to break ground by the end of this year and be completed in December 2009.

Previously, the province is constructing the Eastern Regional Resource Recovery Facility (300-ton capacity) in Hobeop-myeon, Icheon, to collect and process municipal waste from five municipalities in the eastern region—Icheon, Gwangju, Hanam, Yeoju, and Yangpyeong—with a target completion date of the end of next year.

Additionally, the Northern Regional Waste Incinerator (200-ton capacity) to process municipal waste from northern regions such as Yangju and Dongducheon is being constructed with private investment with a target completion date of 2009. The Goyang Incinerator with a daily processing capacity of 300 tons in Baekseok-dong, Ilsan-gu, Goyang, is under construction with a target completion date of July 2010.

Upon completion of all these facilities, the number of regional waste incinerators in the province will increase to seven, combined with the currently operating Gwangmyeong Regional (300 tons: Gwangmyeong, Guro), Guri Regional (200 tons: Guri, Namyangju), Paju Regional (200 tons: Paju, Gimpo), and Gwacheon Regional (80 tons: Gwacheon, Uiwang).

Individual incinerators are also expected to increase from 12 to 16 in cities such as Suwon and Anyang, bringing the total number of municipal waste incinerators in the province to 23.

A provincial official stated, "Once all of these incinerators are completed, all municipal waste generated in each region and area can be self-processed, and problems caused by landfill disposal can be resolved."