Sharp Increase in Recyclables in Changwon City... 'Many Cases of Incorrect Separation and Disposal'

Mayor Heo Seong-mu Visits Masan Recycling Sorting Center ... Communicates with Sorting Workers

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] The amount of recyclables is rapidly increasing within the cities and counties of Changwon, Gyeongnam.

According to the Masan Recycling Sorting Center, due to the increase in delivery and courier services, Styrofoam, waste paper, and plastics have surged by more than 81%, and the total volume of recyclables brought in has increased by about 9.7% compared to before COVID-19.

The intake of bulky recyclables and single-use plastics is rapidly increasing, and sorting is becoming difficult due to improper separation and disposal of items that should not be included in recyclables, such as leftover food, animal carcasses, tissues, toys, toothbrushes, and glass.

In particular, the Masan area has completely changed its recyclable separation and collection system since January this year.

To collect items in their original form, the existing compactor vehicles have been replaced with non-compactor vehicles, and in accordance with the revised Ministry of Environment guidelines, separate collection of transparent PET bottles from single-family houses has been implemented starting December 25 of this year.

The city has secured a budget of 357 million KRW to improve facilities for better recyclable sorting work environments and plans to review and support manpower allocation and reinforcement according to working conditions through the annual national subsidy project for public sorting center modernization.

Additionally, Mayor Heo Seong-mu visited the Masan Recycling Sorting Center on this day to hold a communication meeting at the site sorting the rapidly increasing recyclables since COVID-19.

Mayor Heo said, "The stable processing of waste is the top priority for public waste treatment facilities. Despite the difficulties and challenges in the sorting process due to the surge in waste, I sincerely thank the sorting workers who quietly stay at their posts to sort resources."

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