Let's Protect Sanitation Workers by Eliminating Large-Capacity Trash Bags

Busan City to Suspend 'Large Capacity Bags' to Prevent Sanitation Workers' Safety Accidents
Must Eliminate 100L Monster Bags Weighing Nearly 40kg When Fully Packed

To prevent injuries to sanitation workers, large-capacity garbage bags are expected to disappear in Busan.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The largest 100ℓ capacity garbage bags currently in circulation are expected to disappear in Busan. This is to protect sanitation workers' safety from the 'monster' that can weigh up to 40kg when fully packed with trash.

Busan City has decided to completely stop the production of large-capacity garbage bags (100ℓ) to reduce safety accidents involving sanitation workers who collect and transport household waste and to prevent their exposure to hazards, thereby preventing injuries and creating a safer working environment for sanitation workers.

From 2015 to 2017, there were 1,822 safety accidents involving sanitation workers during the handling and transportation of waste, including large-capacity bags nationwide, resulting in 18 deaths.

According to 2018 statistics, 254,000 white general volume-based garbage bags (100ℓ) and green business site volume-based garbage bags (100ℓ) were sold.

The total weight of a 100ℓ garbage bag can exceed 40kg when compressed and disposed of, which is much heavier than the 25kg limit set by the Ministry of Environment guidelines. This has been a major cause of musculoskeletal disorders among sanitation workers, and recently, the suspension of production has been spreading among local governments nationwide.

To prevent injuries and create a safe working environment for sanitation workers, Busan City has recommended that districts and counties suspend the production of two types of 100ℓ large-capacity bags currently produced locally (white general volume-based bags and green business site volume-based bags) as well as one type of 100ℓ business site exclusive bag (orange) produced by business waste collection and transportation companies.

Furthermore, Busan City plans to propose to the Ministry of Environment to fundamentally prohibit the production of large-capacity bags (100ℓ). The current guidelines for volume-based garbage fees specify 10 types of bags ranging from 1ℓ to 100ℓ, but the proposal is to change this to 9 types by excluding the 100ℓ volume-based garbage bag.

Lee Jun-seung, Director of Environmental Policy, stated, “Stopping the production of large-capacity bags is essential to prevent injuries to sanitation workers who work on the front lines of urban cleanliness in Busan.”

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