Different Standards for Piano and Wardrobe Waste Disposal... Seoul City to Improve Disposal Convenience and Fees

Introduction of High-Weight Large Waste Disposal Support Service for Single-Person Households Implemented by Autonomous Districts
Proposal of Appropriate Measures for Different Large Waste Reporting Procedures and Fees by Districts... Expected to Alleviate Citizen Inconvenience

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City is improving the large waste disposal and fee systems, which differ by autonomous district, to enhance convenience for citizens. The city plans to establish a disposal standard guideline that can be commonly applied across districts and introduce a heavy large waste disposal support service for single-person households.

According to Seoul City on the 13th, single-person households and elderly households face difficulties disposing of heavy large waste, and the disposal procedures and fees vary by district under current laws, causing confusion for residents who have moved from other districts. Especially, as the number of elderly single-person households has significantly increased, some delay disposing of heavy large waste such as pianos and wardrobes that are difficult to transport alone.

In response, Seoul City will introduce the "Heavy Large Waste Disposal Support Service" to facilitate the disposal of large waste that citizens have found difficult to dispose of due to weight, simplify the reporting procedures, discover best practices by district, and present appropriate fee standards to improve the large waste disposal process.

To ensure the rapid establishment of the heavy large waste disposal support service, Seoul City has prioritized its introduction according to the circumstances of each district, such as through mobile app agency methods. Currently, four districts (Gangseo-gu, Mapo-gu, Guro-gu, Seocho-gu) operate mobile apps that include services transporting heavy large waste such as refrigerators and wardrobes from homes to disposal sites.

Seoul City plans to consult with all districts to introduce the heavy large waste disposal support service within the year. The city expects that once the service is implemented in all districts, disposing of large waste will become more convenient for single-person and elderly households.

Additionally, instead of the existing method requiring a disposal certificate to be received and attached when disposing of large waste, the procedure will be simplified by changing to a method where the disposal number assigned at the time of reporting is written on the large waste. Currently, 13 districts including Jongno-gu require residents to print a disposal certificate from the district website and attach it to the large waste or visit the community service center to receive and attach the certificate. Five districts including Seongdong-gu allow residents to either print the disposal certificate from the website or report by phone to the community service center and write the disposal number on the large waste, but this has caused inconvenience in the disposal process.

Meanwhile, Seoul City is promoting a plan to unify the disposal fee standards, which differ by district even for the same waste items. A study on appropriate disposal fee guidelines is currently underway, and based on the results, appropriate fees will be set and presented to all districts within this year to encourage unification of the differing standards.

For example, currently, Eunpyeong-gu charges a disposal fee of 15,000 KRW for all sizes of pianos, while Nowon-gu charges 4,000 KRW for digital pianos and 15,000 KRW for regular pianos, and Gangdong-gu charges 10,000 KRW for digital pianos, 20,000 KRW for regular pianos, and 30,000 KRW for grand pianos.

Jung Mi-seon, head of the Resource Circulation Division of Seoul City, said, “We will actively introduce the ‘Heavy Large Waste Disposal Support Service’ for the increasing number of single-person and elderly households and establish and implement reasonable large waste separation and disposal guidelines. We expect this to minimize the inconvenience experienced by citizens who have had difficulties disposing of large waste.”

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