Suncheon-si Announces Comprehensive Plan to Overcome Garbage Crisis and Reduce Waste by 20%

Establishment of a Comprehensive Plan from Initial Waste Generation to Collection, Transportation, and Treatment Stages

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Suncheon City (Mayor Heo Seok) announced a comprehensive plan on the 15th to reduce waste by 20% by 2030 to overcome the impending waste crisis caused by the saturation of Wangji Landfill, suspension of the Resource Circulation Center operation, and site selection issues of the Cleanup Environment Center, and decided to launch a city-wide citizen movement.

This is in line with the policy announced last month by Mayor Heo Seok in the ‘Suncheon City Waste Policy Briefing,’ which aims to comprehensively and systematically solve waste problems from three perspectives: waste generation and discharge, collection and transportation, and treatment stages.

Reducing waste starting from the generation and discharge stage.

▶ Launching a city-wide citizen movement to reduce waste

Suncheon City will carry out various campaigns to reduce waste through diverse methods.

First, it will promote a zero waste movement. This includes reducing disposable items in university dormitory areas, using shopping bags in traditional markets, using tumblers instead of disposable products, conducting online citizen practice campaigns, and campaigns to reduce food waste in restaurant districts, along with various promotions and incentives planned.

Additionally, the city will promote the “Sseudam Sseudam” movement (picking up trash while running), an environmental cleanup activity where participants pick up trash while running or walking.

This activity allows people to freely walk or run while maintaining social distancing and pick up trash. After participating, posting a certification photo on SNS will grant one hour of volunteer time credit from the respective town or township office.

Suncheon will also hold a contest for practical essays and ideas on reducing household waste in the Suncheon style.

The contest has two categories: practical essays on excellent cases of reducing household waste and ideas on know-how to reduce waste in daily life.

Any Suncheon citizen can participate by submitting entries via email or mail from the 22nd until April 30.

Submitted works will be reviewed by a panel of experts, and 24 outstanding works will be awarded certificates and prizes (Suncheon Love Gift Certificates).

▶ Introduction of real-name system for departments disposing of volume-based waste bags in public institutions

Suncheon City is implementing a real-name system for departments disposing of volume-based waste bags starting February, encouraging public officials to take the lead in reducing waste and spreading this practice throughout the community.

Each department and administrative welfare center in towns and townships must attach a sticker with the department name and responsible person's name on the front of the volume-based waste bag when disposing of household waste generated in offices.

Resource circulation leaders will conduct regular monthly inspections.

Departments with insufficient waste separation will receive penalties, while excellent departments will be awarded separately, operating the system systematically.

▶ Promotion of recycling separation and establishment of a virtuous resource circulation system

Suncheon City will take the lead in promoting high value-added recycling separation and establishing a virtuous resource circulation system through various recycling policies.

It will hold a recycling sharing market once every quarter to spread recycling culture, including recycling exchange projects, and conduct a hidden resource collection contest for agricultural waste in rural areas in November.

Plastic zero projects such as the Imagination Table and bamboo toothbrush exchange will also be carried out throughout the year.

The city will expand the paper pack (milk pack) and used battery reward exchange project to 24 administrative welfare centers in towns and townships and operate pilot schools for collecting paper packs targeting schools, which account for 30% of milk pack waste generation.

About 10 schools will be selected to run milk pack collection programs to raise recycling awareness from a young age.

To contribute to resource saving and environmental protection, the city will also promote an ice pack recycling campaign.

It will publicize excellent cases and support ice pack collection boxes in apartments and townships, planning to install 350 additional locations next year.

Reducing waste in the collection and transportation stage as well.

▶ Improving waste collection methods and promoting realistic pricing of volume-based waste bags

Suncheon City is preparing to shift the waste collection method from door-to-door collection to a point collection system.

To this end, the number of recycling neighborhood yards (Clean Houses) currently installed at 47 locations will be increased to 57 next year, 80 in 2022, and expanded to 150 by 2025 to enhance collection and transportation efficiency.

Additionally, a recycling assistance center, which has shown successful results in Jeju Island, will be piloted next year, and after analyzing its effectiveness, expanded to 10 locations by 2025.

The city will also implement a project to produce and supply containers for leftover food to reduce food waste collection costs.

By supplying packaging containers to restaurants, customers can take leftover food home in these containers, promoting efficient reduction of food waste, which accounts for more than half of restaurant food waste.

The selection method for contractors handling household waste collection and transportation will shift from negotiated contracts to open competitive bidding to encourage fair competition and improve cleaning service quality.

Moreover, the timing is ripe for realistic pricing of volume-based waste bags.

The resident burden rate for waste treatment in Suncheon remains at about 18%, far below the Ministry of Environment’s recommended rate of over 30%.

The city plans to carefully consider raising the price of volume-based waste bags after gathering residents’ opinions through public hearings and reviewing cases from other local governments.

However, considering the COVID-19 situation, the implementation timing will be flexibly adjusted.

▶ Expansion and distribution of RFID-based individual food waste weighing devices

The RFID-based individual food waste weighing device, which automatically measures the amount of food waste when a card is scanned on the food waste meter and charges fees accordingly, will be expanded from the current 50% coverage in apartment complexes to 100% by 2025.

It will also be continuously distributed to single-family homes and commercial establishments to suppress food waste discharge and improve a pleasant residential environment.

A Suncheon City official said, “Over the past five years, the implementation has resulted in a reduction of food waste by more than 40%,” and added, “We will put more effort into expanding RFID individual weighing devices in the future.”

Reducing waste in the treatment stage as well.

▶ Promotion of facility enhancement projects including expansion of waste treatment facilities

Until new waste treatment facilities are completed, Suncheon City will minimize citizen inconvenience caused by household waste by vertically raising the embankment of the Wangji Landfill to secure reserve capacity.

The city secured national funding next year in consultation with the Ministry of Environment and obtained approval for changes in waste treatment facility installation, aiming to complete construction by the end of this year.

The city is also expediting the restoration and normal operation of the Resource Circulation Center, which was suspended due to fire.

During the suspension, household waste is being stably processed through private consignment, and administrative and legal measures are being pursued regarding the suspension incident.

The food waste resource facility is continuously undergoing improvement projects, with feasibility studies to be completed next year, and plans to install fermentation equipment (100 tons/day) and expand centrifuges and compost sorters to establish a stable food waste treatment foundation.

▶ Construction of new waste treatment facility (Cleanup Environment Center)

Suncheon City is actively working to finalize the site for a new facility for future generations and to introduce stable and efficient facilities.

The city plans to select a new site through sufficient discussions with residents.

Continuous policy briefings are being held for residents of candidate or hopeful areas, and village development plans and incentives are being discussed with stakeholders in the respective areas.

A Suncheon City official said, “We will finalize the site in the first half of next year and accelerate the construction of the new facility,” and added, “We ask for the continuous interest and cooperation of citizens to solve the waste problem.”

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