Over 650 Additional 'Street Trash Bins' Installed Across Seoul City

Seoul City to Conduct Comprehensive Survey of 6,940 Vehicles by 12th for Systematic Management

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to invest 80 million won this year to install a total of 657 additional street trash bins throughout the city.

According to Seoul City on the 8th, when the 'Pay-as-you-throw garbage fee system' was implemented in 1995, there were a total of 7,607 street trash bins in Seoul. However, as cases of disposing garbage generated from households or businesses occurred, the bins were removed according to the conditions of each autonomous district, reducing the number to 3,707 by 2007.

However, as the number of street trash bins drastically decreased, citizens experienced inconvenience due to the lack of proper places to dispose of trash generated on the streets. Especially in major downtown areas such as multi-use gathering places and tourist areas frequently visited by citizens and foreign tourists, requests from citizens to install trash bins increased.

Accordingly, the city established the 'Street Trash Bin Expansion and Management Improvement Plan' again in 2013 and has been partially supporting installation costs annually. As a result, by last year, the total number of street trash bins in Seoul increased to 6,940. In particular, since January 2018, when carrying disposable cups (takeout cups) on city buses was prohibited, many street trash bins were installed around bus stops.

The city plans to conduct a comprehensive survey of the 6,940 street trash bins in the city by the 12th, focusing on areas with high foot traffic and large amounts of trash generation to check the number of bins and the amount of trash, and relocate them to appropriate locations or install new ones additionally. Furthermore, the city will establish a 'Street Trash Bin Guideline' covering installation intervals, locations, design, and operation management to systematically install and operate the bins.

With the amendment of the 'Seoul Waste Management Ordinance' on the 19th of last month, from now on, installation costs can only be supported when it is deemed necessary to install trash bins to improve street environments in areas with high foot traffic.

Kwon Seon-jo, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Living Environment Division, said, "Through the survey, we will understand changes in demand for street trash bins and install them only in essential locations in accordance with the purpose of the amended ordinance, so that Seoul can become a cleaner and more hygienic city."

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