During the Monsoon Season, Pohang City Faces 'Food Waste Crisis'... Contractor Collection Suspended

Complete Suspension of Processing Facilities and Collection Due to Contracted Company Employment Succession Issues
Pohang City "Legal Action" Threatened... No Measures Until the 30th

The photo shows union members of Yeongsan Mansan Industry urging for employment succession following the outsourcing of food waste management at Pohang City Hall on June 8. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongwook Park] In the Pohang area of Gyeongbuk, not only has the food waste processing facility stopped operating, but even the collection has been halted, causing great distress to citizens.

Pohang City has declared a strong legal and administrative response policy against the contracted company, but due to the sudden resignation of the company's employees, it seems unavoidable that the food waste crisis will continue for the time being.

According to Pohang City on the 26th, Youngsanman Industry Co., Ltd., which operates the local food waste recycling facility, has unilaterally stopped processing food waste since the 24th. Because they failed to reach an agreement on employment succession with Wonjin Enterprise, which will take over food waste processing from next month, eight employees responsible for facility operation suddenly submitted their resignations and have not reported to work.

The collective resignation of these employees followed the agreement made on the 23rd between Wonjin Enterprise, the succeeding contractor, and Pohang City to only take over employment of 38 food waste collection workers.

Currently, with the food waste recycling facility not operating, the tanks are full. Consequently, collection work has also been suspended. As of the morning of the 26th, food waste in personal residences or small restaurant bins is not overflowing, but if this continues for a few more days, the situation is expected to become serious.

In a press release on the 25th, the urgent Pohang City stated, "If the failure to process food waste prolongs, we will hold legal and administrative responsibility," pressuring Youngsanman Industry. They attempted to temporarily collect food waste and install equipment to allow other companies to process it, but according to Pohang City, even this has been obstructed, making food waste processing impossible until the 30th due to ongoing interference.

In response, Youngsanman Industry has repeatedly expressed their difficulty, stating, "The employees' emotions are currently highly agitated, making resolution difficult. Since the morning of the 25th, Pohang City's excessive response has worsened the situation."

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