Yangcheon-gu Designates the Fourth Friday of Every Month as 'Gold Digging Day'

‘Waste Metal Competition’ Held Together with District Residents

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu (District Mayor Kim Soo-young) has designated the fourth Friday of every month from February to November as "Gold Mining Day" and will conduct a "Waste Metal Competition" involving all employees and residents.

Since 2009, following the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Urban Mining Project plan, this competition has been held annually with participation from residents and employees to recycle waste electronics, conserve resources, and use the proceeds to help low-income neighbors, achieving a win-win effect.

The collection targets include small home appliances and waste batteries, which are collected free of charge at community centers and the district office's cleaning administration department, then sent to SR Center, a Seoul-type social enterprise.

At this center, waste electronics are separated and sold as valuable resources such as scrap metal and copper, and the proceeds are used for social return projects including assistance for low-income neighbors and job creation for vulnerable groups.

Last year, approximately 200 tons of waste electronics and batteries were collected by residents and district office departments (dong community centers). Yangcheon High School, selected as an outstanding school through a campaign to collect waste mobile phones and batteries at local elementary, middle, and high schools, received commendations and awards.

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, stated, "The waste metal recycling project extracts rare metals such as gold, coltan, and palladium, increasing resource recovery rates, preventing environmental pollution, and significantly contributing to job creation." He added, "I hope residents and employees will continue to show great interest and participate actively this year as well."

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