[Initial Report] Eco-friendly 3 No's (無) Incheon City Hall

Incheon City 'Eco-friendly Resource Circulation Office' Plaque Ceremony
Photo by Incheon City

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] There are three things that do not exist in the Incheon City Hall? Disposable items including common paper cups, overflowing food waste in the cafeteria, and resource waste. Incheon City is drawing attention by launching a campaign this month to eliminate these three items in order to operate an eco-friendly government building. To help all employees renew their commitment, a signboard reading "Eco-friendly Resource Circulation Government Building" was also hung on the pillar at the main entrance of City Hall on the 1st.

The biggest change is the disappearance of disposable items within the building. Employees now use personal mugs or tumblers instead of disposable paper cups that were used during department meetings or consultations with civil petitioners. At the caf? on the first floor of City Hall, customers must bring their own cups to fill and drink beverages. For employees without personal cups or visitors to the building, reusable cups are provided. A dish rental company contracted by Incheon City directly manages the delivery, collection, and cleaning of reusable cups used in City Hall.

Delivery food that includes disposable items and takeout coffee are not allowed inside the building if served in disposable cups. On the first day of operating the "Eco-friendly 3-No (無) Government Building," some civil petitioners were stopped when trying to enter City Hall carrying takeout coffee in disposable cups. Because of this, it was common to see people leaving their coffee at a storage stand set up at the entrance or finishing their coffee before entering the building.

It may seem absurd that it is not legally mandated and yet coffee in disposable cups is prohibited inside a public office. While paper cups can be used once and discarded, using personal cups requires washing each time, which can be bothersome, and there is also the inconvenience of having to dispose of trash in recycling bins placed on each floor instead of office trash cans.

However, environmental issues are a reality that we must face to the extent that such enforcement is necessary. Local governments have created eco-friendly policies and held campaigns to encourage citizen participation, but it is true that even inside government buildings, efforts to reduce waste have been passive. Incheon City not only bans disposable items but also operates separate recycling bins to encourage recyclable waste disposal and has installed food waste reduction devices in cafeterias to reduce food waste and suppress wastewater generation.

Incheon City Hall employees are inspecting reusable cups to be used inside the building.
[Photo by Incheon City]

By implementing these high-intensity waste reduction policies, the city aims to reduce the average daily waste generated at City Hall from the current 325kg to 225kg by 2025, a reduction of about 30% within five years. Starting next month, when all public institution buildings including the City Council, the Office of Education, 10 districts and counties, city-affiliated institutions and offices, and investment and foundation institutions operate as eco-friendly resource circulation buildings, the results are expected to exceed the target by more than double.

Incheon City declared the end of use of the Sudokwon Landfill Site (Baekseok-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon) by 2025 and is currently in conflict with Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, but it is accelerating resource circulation policies to fundamentally reduce waste and establish an eco-friendly lifestyle culture in daily life. Increasing the distribution of food waste reduction devices to reduce household waste and conducting campaigns for disposable-free food service culture at funeral homes are part of these efforts.

Encouraging colleagues who complain about the operation of the "3-No (無) Government Building," one public official’s cry, "Even if we cannot leave a lot of money to our children, let’s leave them a clean environment," is hoped to lead to participation in homes and workplaces everywhere.

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