Lawmaker Yoo Man-hee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s Environment and Water Resources Committee has strongly criticized the inconsistency and discrepancies in waste management policies among various districts while reviewing the current state of household waste policies.
During the briefing on the operations of the Climate and Environment Headquarters at the 330th interim session, Yoo said, “Seoul is implementing various policies to reduce waste, but differences in standards are causing confusion among citizens.”
There is indeed a slight variation in waste disposal guidelines among districts. While Gangnam-gu recommends disposing of rubber gloves in non-burnable waste bags, other districts often use general waste bags. The Gangnam Resource Recovery Facility, which processes waste from eight districts, raises concerns about the possibility of harmful substances being emitted due to these differences in standards.
There is also a significant disparity in enforcement status among districts. Yoo pointed out, “As of 2024, Gangnam-gu and Gangdong-gu have imposed over 4,000 fines each, whereas Songpa-gu has imposed none, and Seocho-gu has only imposed 694 fines,” highlighting the lack of unified enforcement standards as a problem.
Current waste-related operations are conducted individually according to district regulations, and many instances diverge from Seoul city’s recommended criteria. Yoo emphasized the urgency of establishing a unified guideline at the Seoul city level.
The head of the Seoul Climate and Environment Headquarters responded by stating that they would work with the districts to establish unified management standards.
On the same day, Yoo also mentioned the issue of waste accumulation due to the scheduled overhaul of the Gangnam Resource Recovery Facility. He requested measures to prevent odors and environmental pollution, such as installing nets at temporary storage sites, as all three incinerators would be maintained simultaneously, rendering the treatment of 800-900 tons of waste per day impossible.
