Suspicion of Illegal Disposal of Onion Waste by Hampyeong A Agricultural Cooperative... County Begins Investigation

The production and distribution center of A Agricultural Cooperative, which has been reported for dumping onion waste in the surrounding rice paddies and fields in Hampyeong, Jeonnam.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] A complaint has been received that an agricultural cooperative corporation in Hampyeong, Jeonnam, has been frequently dumping storage onion waste in nearby rice fields and covering it up by rotary tillage using a tractor, prompting the county to investigate the facts.

According to Hampyeong County on the 6th, a complaint was received on the 4th that Agricultural Cooperative A was illegally disposing of onion waste.

Upon receiving the complaint, the county immediately sent officials to the site to assess the situation.

Agricultural Cooperative A was established in 2010 for the purpose of distributing onions produced in the production area, and facilities were built in 2018 with about 3.1 billion KRW invested from national, provincial, and county funds.

When Hampyeong County began investigating, the on-site representative of the cooperative admitted that onion waste had been dumped in nearby rice fields as fertilizer substitute and rotary tillage was performed in January, but stated that the exact amount of dumping was unknown.

A county official said, "We will investigate the amount of onion waste dumped by Agricultural Cooperative A and then consider whether to file charges."

Meanwhile, the said Agricultural Cooperative A is headed by Representative B, a former proportional representative member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Article 2, Clause 3 of the current Waste Management Act defines "business waste" as waste generated from workplaces that install and operate discharge facilities under the Atmospheric Environment Conservation Act, Water Environment Conservation Act, or Noise and Vibration Control Act, or other workplaces designated by Presidential Decree. Article 2, Clause 7 of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act defines it as "workplaces that discharge an average of 300 kg or more of waste per day."

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