"Urgent Need for Waste Incineration Plant" ... Launch of Seoul Resource Recovery Facility Site Selection Committee

Final Selection After Feasibility Study and Resident Feedback Across Seoul Next Year
Incheon Landfill Operation to Cease in 2025, Ban on Landfilling Combustible Waste from 2026

A worker is digging through a pile of trash with an excavator at a recycling processing facility within the Seoul Songpa-gu Resource Circulation Park. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As Incheon City has declared the cessation of operations at the Sudokwon Landfill Site by 2025, Seoul City is forming a site selection committee composed of experts, resident representatives, and city council members to actively promote the construction of a metropolitan-scale waste incineration facility (resource recovery facility).

The 'Seoul Metropolitan Resource Recovery Facility Site Selection Committee' held its first meeting and appointed members on the afternoon of the 15th at Seoul City Hall Seosomun Building 1, and plans to select a specialized research institution by February next year to conduct a feasibility study on candidate sites across the city by August.

The committee will disclose the results of the study for public viewing, as well as through daily newspapers, the city newsletter, and the city website, and will gather opinions from local residents to decide the final site.

Previously, the city conducted two rounds of public site recruitment for the metropolitan resource recovery facility from May to December last year, but with no applicants, the city has decided to proceed with facility construction through the formation of this site selection committee.

According to the 'Public Awareness Survey on Household Waste Measures' conducted in September with 1,000 citizens to anticipate conflicts arising during the metropolitan resource recovery facility construction process, 7 out of 10 Seoul citizens (72%) responded that household waste generation has recently increased, and more than 8 out of 10 (85.8%) supported the expansion or addition of waste treatment facilities.

Recently, due to the increase in single-person households and the growth of the delivery industry amid the spread of COVID-19, the amount of household waste generated in Seoul continues to rise. Accordingly, the four metropolitan resource recovery facilities operated by the city and the incineration facility in Eunpyeong New Town alone are insufficient to handle the volume, causing a significant amount of household waste to rely on direct landfill disposal.

According to the Ministry of Environment, Seoul landfilled 868 tons of waste daily at the Sudokwon Landfill Site in 2018 and 950 tons daily in 2019. The amount of household waste generated up to August this year increased by 11.4% compared to the same period last year.

Moreover, with Incheon City preparing its own landfill site ahead of the scheduled end of Sudokwon Landfill Site usage in Seo-gu by 2025, Seoul City, which has been using this site, is expected to face greater difficulties in handling household waste in the future. Since the landfill of combustible waste will be banned in the metropolitan area starting in 2026, urgent measures are needed.

Following the principle of treating household waste at its source, the city plans to newly construct metropolitan resource recovery facilities to achieve zero direct landfill, and establish comprehensive waste management measures including installing facilities to sort plastic waste within volume-based waste bags and expanding recycling sorting facilities.

Jung Soo-yong, Head of Seoul City's Climate and Environment Headquarters, said, "Household waste in Seoul is increasing, and from 2026, landfill of combustible waste will also be prohibited. We will actively cooperate in operating the site selection committee for additional metropolitan resource recovery facility construction and work together to find ways to increase resident acceptance."

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