Seongbuk-gu 'Alleyway Cigarette Butt Collection Day' Pilot Operation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] The Dongseon-dong Community Service Center in Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) conducted a pilot operation of the ‘Alleyway Cigarette Butt Collection Day’ on Hanaro Street on June 28, together with the Autonomous Disaster Prevention Group and some members of the Residents’ Autonomous Association.

Selected as a Dongseon-dong neighborhood-level resident autonomy special project in 2021, the ‘Alleyway Cigarette Butt Collection Day’ aims to regularly collect cigarette butts abandoned in every alley of Dongseon-dong by establishing collection points at the neighborhood level. This project is meaningful in that it strengthens resident autonomy capabilities and provides opportunities to accumulate experience in village-level activities by planning, executing, and evaluating one distinctive Dongseon-dong activity each year. The project was designated to address Dongseon-dong’s persistent problem of illegal dumping.

Various measures to handle cigarette butts, considered a major cause of marine pollution among the many types of trash abandoned in every alley, have been steadily implemented. However, the daily morning and noon cleaning patrols and the comprehensive maintenance of rainwater drains conducted on June 9 were insufficient.

Due to the widespread illegal dumping of cigarette butts in the commercial area centered on Hanaro Street and the surrounding alleys, active and organized participation by residents and local inhabitants is urgently needed. Applications for the ‘Alleyway Cigarette Butt Collection Day,’ held on the last Wednesday of every month, can be submitted at the Dongseon-dong Community Service Center, with no eligibility requirements. Hanaro Street, partially designated as a non-smoking zone since 2003, is also a non-smoking promotional street. The participants in the recent pilot operation, who gathered to help Hanaro Street regain its nickname as the “Non-Smoking Promotional Street,” expressed enthusiasm, stating that meeting more frequently than once a month would be more effective.

Not only Hanaro Street but any alley where cigarette butts accumulate will be designated as the ‘Cigarette Butt Collection Alley of the Month’ to receive focused attention and care on the ‘Alleyway Cigarette Butt Collection Day.’

The ‘Alleyway Cigarette Butt Collection Day,’ which strives to create a clean environment in Dongseon-dong through the cooperation of residents and local inhabitants, will continue regularly not only in 2021 but also in the coming years. Various efforts of different types and scales to establish a clean and pleasant Dongseon-dong environment will be sustained.

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