Ministry of Environment "Operating Floating Waste Intensive Collection Period... Currently Collected 32,000 Tons"

Floating Waste Collection Operation at Paldang Lake

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of Environment announced that it will operate an intensive collection period for floating waste drifting into rivers, dams, and coastal areas starting from the 18th, when river water levels are expected to stabilize.

According to the Ministry of Environment on the 14th, during the recent month-long period of heavy rainfall, approximately 38,000 tons of floating waste flowed into 51 multipurpose dams and weirs nationwide, with concentrated inflows in the Chungju Dam (9,600 tons), Daecheong Dam (8,567 tons), and Soyanggang Dam (8,320 tons) sections. It is estimated that over 30,000 tons have occurred in rivers so far.

About 80-90% of the inflowing floating materials are vegetation such as grass and dead trees along the riverbanks, and this time, due to extensive flood damage, household waste from flood damage is also expected to increase significantly.

Out of the estimated total of 68,000 tons generated so far, approximately 32,000 tons have been collected, including 15,000 tons of waste from rivers and estuaries nationwide and 17,000 tons of floating waste from dams and weirs.

Before the heavy rainfall, about 10,000 tons of abandoned waste along riverbanks were pre-collected by the end of June, and after the heavy rainfall, 17,000 tons from dams and weirs and 5,000 tons from riverbanks have been collected, totaling 22,000 tons so far.

The Ministry of Environment, in cooperation with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, will operate the intensive collection period starting from the 18th, with participation from Korea Water Resources Corporation, Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation, and local governments, focusing all efforts on collecting waste drifting into rivers, estuaries, dams, weirs, and coastal areas nationwide.

In areas with large amounts of floating waste such as Chungju Dam, Daecheong Dam, and Soyanggang Dam, the Water Resources Corporation has installed blocking nets to prevent downstream drifting and deployed collection vessels and excavators, having already collected 17,000 tons (46%) of the generated waste, with plans to promptly handle the remaining waste.

Paldang Dam, managed by Gyeonggi Province, has collected 298 tons (27%), and the remaining floating waste will also be promptly handled to minimize downstream outflow.

Coastal areas where large amounts of waste have drifted ashore, such as Mokpo (2,000 tons), Taean (1,380 tons), Namhae (1,000 tons), and Seocheon (890 tons), have seen 2,800 tons (29%) collected so far by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries using dedicated collection vessels.

The Ministry of Environment is monitoring the occurrence and collection status of floating waste by local governments and encouraging collection by promptly executing this year’s national treasury subsidy (10.8 billion KRW) already provided. If local governments lack collection budgets, additional financial support measures such as utilizing watershed funds and budget reallocation are being prepared.

Meanwhile, all agencies participating in this cleanup activity will comply with safety rules for workers and preventive measures such as wearing masks due to COVID-19.

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