Yeosu City Makes All-Out Effort to Persuade Residents Around Manheung Landfill... Is Resolution Possible?

Originally Scheduled to End Use in 2020... Yeosu City Extends Utilization for 17 Years

A view of Manheung Landfill located in Manheung-dong, Yeosu City. (Photo by Yeosu City)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Yeosu City (Mayor Kwon Oh-bong) is in consultation with the resident support council to continue using the Manheung Landfill Site, as the landfill capacity has increased due to the installation of a food waste resource facility and an incinerator, extending the originally planned usage period until March 2020.

As of January 2020, the current landfill rate has reached 68%, with a total landfill volume of 2.2 million cubic meters. The additional landfill area available is 1.05 million cubic meters, and Yeosu City estimates that it can be utilized for an additional 17 years.

Yeosu City stated that to extend the use of the Manheung Landfill Site, it has held 11 meetings and discussions with surrounding villages since June last year, along with 28 individual interviews, continuously making efforts for consultation.

On the 27th, during a meeting with the resident support council, the city proposed “a plan to postpone the closure of the Manheung Landfill Site until consultations are completed.” Representatives from Deokchung, Orim, and Yeondeung-dong supported this, but six representatives from Manheung left the meeting room, causing the meeting to collapse.

Among the 15 representatives from villages around the Manheung Landfill Site, nine support the landfill use until consultations with the city are completed, but the Manheung-dong Prosperity Association insists on ending use by the end of March this year and creating a park.

All landfill sites nationwide, including the Manheung Waste Landfill, can continue landfill operations without separate modification or extension approval until the landfill capacity is exhausted, as long as they have received usage approval under the Waste Management Act.

The Ministry of Environment also responded to Yeosu City’s inquiry, stating that closing landfill facilities with remaining capacity would cause enormous budget waste and is undesirable. Additionally, social costs such as regional conflicts during the creation of new landfill sites are difficult to bear.

Mayor Kwon Oh-bong explained to residents at the Manheung-dong Sarangbang Roundtable on June 7 last year that although the landfill period related to 1998 and 2004 was to end by the end of March 2020, the city would continue to consult with the resident support council to allow landfill up to the approved capacity, effectively extending the period.

The Manheung Landfill Site was approved in December 1994 with a landfill capacity of 3.25 million cubic meters to process waste generated within Yeosu City and began landfill operations in 1997.

With the installation of a food waste resource facility in 2010 and an incineration facility in 2011, the landfill volume decreased accordingly. Currently, 2.2 million cubic meters have been landfilled, using 68% of the capacity, and an additional 1.05 million cubic meters can be landfilled, allowing use until 2037.

Meanwhile, the Manheung Landfill Site has minimized residents’ living damage by conducting daily soil covering and disinfection to prevent odors and dust, and by treating leachate through pipelines connected to the sewage treatment plant.

Yeosu City proposed increasing the resident support fund, which has been provided annually at about 200 million KRW since 1997, totaling 3.3 billion KRW, as a condition for negotiating the extension of the landfill usage period. However, some residents of Manheung-dong have not presented demands and insist on unconditional closure, with collective actions expected.

A city official stated, “At this time when the entire nation is enduring hardships due to COVID-19, blocking waste landfill sites would leave garbage scattered throughout urban areas, increasing citizens’ anxiety and inconvenience and damaging the tourism image.” He added, “We hope the resident support council around the Manheung Landfill Site will engage in prompt consultations.”

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