Incheon Yeonsu-gu to Implement 'Day Shift System for Sanitation Workers' Starting Next Month

Household Waste Collection Shifted to 4 AM?Noon
One-Hour Break Guaranteed During Congestion Periods

Incheon Yeonsu-gu Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, will fully switch the collection time of household waste from nighttime to daytime starting from the 17th of next month to improve the safety and working conditions of sanitation workers. This is the first time such a measure is being implemented in the Incheon area.

According to the district on the 29th, the current household waste collection time for sanitation workers, which operates from 11 PM to 7 AM, will be changed to operate from 4 AM to noon starting from the 17th of next month.

Along with this, to prevent safety accidents and improve work efficiency for household waste collection and transportation workers, a one-hour break will be guaranteed by utilizing vehicle congestion times during waste collection operations.

The district expects that the implementation of the daytime work system for sanitation workers will not only ensure safety but also maintain streets free of leftover waste through more active residue collection during the day, greatly improving the labor environment of sanitation workers.

This is in accordance with the 'Waste Management Act Enforcement Regulations' implemented by the Ministry of Environment starting this year. The district conducted a pilot operation of daytime collection work across Yeonsu-gu for five days from October 25 last year.

As a result, it was judged that in addition to securing safety and efficiency, in the case of the old downtown area, vehicle access improved due to a reduction in parked cars, making pre-collection work unnecessary, and that the rate of contact accidents would decrease in the long term.

However, in some areas such as Okryeon, Seonhak, and Cheonghak-dong, where alleys are narrow and vehicle access is difficult, cooperation for temporary road parking of collection vehicles is expected to be necessary during the process of collecting with 1-ton vehicles and transferring to 5-ton vehicles.

The revised 'Sanitation Worker Work Safety Guidelines' by the Ministry of Environment include mandatory installation of work situation video devices, safety switches, and emergency stop bars; changing the direction of the cleaning vehicle’s exhaust pipe 90 degrees to the left; the principle of working in teams of three; and shortening or stopping work during severe weather conditions.

Until now, sanitation workers have continuously carried out waste collection work during dark nighttime and early morning hours with poor visibility, accumulated sleep deprivation, and fatigue.

A Yeonsu-gu official stated, "We plan to address any inconveniences to residents caused by the change in collection times," and added, "As this decision is for improving the working environment and safety of sanitation workers, we ask for residents’ understanding and active cooperation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.