National Civic Environmental Groups Urge "Yoon Seok-yeol Candidate to Immediately Withdraw Food Waste Grinder Installation"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Nationwide civic environmental organizations including Suwon Environmental Movement Federation, Yongin YMCA, Anseongcheon Citizens' Group for River Restoration, and Anyangcheon Network have called for the immediate withdrawal of the People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol's environmental pledge to install 'food waste disposers,' warning that it could become a second Four Major Rivers Project pledge.

In a statement released on the 27th, the nationwide civic environmental organizations said, "The use of food waste disposers was partially permitted during the Lee Myung-bak administration, but even then, the capacity of sewage treatment plants could not handle it, causing the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) of sewage treatment facilities to soar up to 300 mg per liter, leading to clogged or backflowing sewage pipes and increasing maintenance and management costs every year." They expressed concern that "in such a situation, if food waste is ground at each household and sent directly to sewage treatment plants as per candidate Yoon's pledge, the plants will almost completely stop operating or fail to purify, allowing untreated waste to flow into rivers or seas, worsening water pollution and intensifying ecosystem destruction."

They further pointed out, "In the case of apartment complex joint collection treatment methods, a pilot project apartment in Ansan showed that the BOD was on average 32.3% higher than in areas without installation, revealing a significant impact on water pollution."

The organizations added, "According to a report by the Ministry of Environment, candidate Yoon's 'full allowance of food waste disposers' pledge is estimated to incur additional costs of about 17 trillion won due to increased pollution load and the need for treatment plant expansion."

They also stated, "Under the current Sewerage Act, manufacturing, importing, or selling disposers illegally is punishable by up to two years imprisonment or a fine of up to 20 million won," and argued, "To install food waste disposer sinks as candidate Yoon suggests, a forced legal amendment must be pushed through."

Moreover, they said, "To grind food waste at each household sink and store it in collection containers, buildings must have piping for food waste discharge installed, and when constructing new towns, sewage treatment plants and sewer pipes must be designed from the start with food waste disposers in mind." They questioned, "We wonder if candidate Yoon is aware of these circumstances when making his pledge. Such a pledge to use disposers, which requires changing laws and disregards costs related to basic building or housing repairs (modifying existing apartment structures is impossible), must be stopped."

In particular, they emphasized, "Candidate Yoon's pledge ultimately enriches private businesses, ravages the great natural resources of the nation such as rivers and streams, and threatens public safety, national security, and peace." They warned, "Although the Lee Myung-bak administration's environmental pledges to allow disposable paper cups and install food waste disposers seemed like conveniences for the public, they led to Korea becoming a disposable product haven with plastic and other single-use items due to 'disposable product regulations and food waste discharge permits,' and the Four Major Rivers Project resulted in irreversible environmental disasters to the nation's great rivers. Considering this, candidate Yoon's 'full allowance of food waste disposers' pledge could become a second Four Major Rivers disaster pledge that destroys rivers, streams, and seas."

Meanwhile, Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Jun-byung has introduced a bill to amend the Sewerage Act to completely ban the use of food waste disposers.

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