Hong Taeyong, Mayor of Gimhae, "Jangyu Incineration Plant Will Be Expanded as Planned"

Announcement on the Promotion of Resource Circulation Facility Modernization Project

Hong Tae-yong, mayor of Gimhae City, Gyeongnam, announced the decision to promote the modernization project of the resource circulation facility (Jangyu Incineration Plant).

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] “The resource circulation facility (Jangyu Incineration Plant) modernization project will proceed as planned.”

On the 26th, Hong Taeyong, mayor of Gimhae City, Gyeongnam, announced that the project to build and renovate Jangyu Incineration Plant, the only waste incineration plant in Gimhae, and to expand the second unit will proceed as planned.

Mayor Hong stated, “Since it has been judged that there are no illegal facts during the promotion process, we will proceed swiftly according to the current plan without holding resident forums,” and added, “Regarding relocation issues, we will establish and proceed with a long-term plan through a feasibility study on the integration of environmental basic facilities in the second half of next year.”

The city explained that an average of 200 tons of household waste is generated daily, of which 140 tons are incinerated, and the remaining approximately 60 tons are stockpiled at the Jinyeong landfill site.

It added that currently 37,000 tons are buried, reaching 70% of the total stockpile capacity of 53,000 tons, making it impossible to ignore the saturation status.

It was also mentioned that if an unexpected breakdown occurs in the aging facilities of the Jangyu Incineration Plant, which has been operating for 22 years since 2001, a waste crisis is feared.

According to the city, the modernization project is a metropolitan project promoted according to government policy directions, with an additional support of 27.8 billion KRW from national and provincial funds and 5 billion KRW from Changwon City funds.

A city official said, “So far, we have secured and executed 13.1 billion KRW from national and provincial funds and 900 million KRW from Changwon City’s contribution, and the Korea Environment Corporation has selected the project implementer and is promoting the project,” adding, “If the project is stopped, there will be enormous liability for damages.”

In 2018, some Jangyu residents opposed the major repair and expansion construction of the Jangyu Incineration Plant and formed an emergency countermeasure committee.

The committee opposed the project, citing damage from odors and dust generated when burning waste and health concerns, and criticized procedural illegalities such as not holding a site selection committee.

They urged the introduction of new technologies such as pyrolysis technology that processes waste by indirectly heating waste plastics and other waste to regenerate oil instead of incineration, and called for holding resident forums.

Gimhae City responded to the committee’s demands by stating, “The installation of a 400-ton per day incineration facility was decided by the site selection committee,” and “Since the modernization project is an expansion of 150 tons capacity, it is not subject to separate consent from the site selection committee, according to the Ministry of Environment’s judgment.”

It continued, “The resident support agreement was concluded based on the decision of the legal representative organization, the Bugok Resident Support Council, and there is no legal defect.”

Regarding the pyrolysis oil refining device (RGO technology), the city said, “It is unsuitable for processing large amounts of household waste, and currently no local governments operate it,” and “The Ministry of Environment also judges that it is not a facility to replace incineration facilities, but plans to consider installing small-scale pyrolysis oil refining devices to process non-recyclable plastics and agricultural waste to reduce incineration volume in the future.”

Regarding the demand for holding resident forums, it was explained that since the expansion project has been promoted through dozens of resident meetings and forums since the project’s inception, it is not appropriate to decide on whether to proceed at this point through a forum.

Mayor Hong proposed alternatives, saying, “We will expand improvements in living conditions through consultation with the Resident Support Council regarding health and property rights concerns of residents within the incineration plant’s influence area.”

He said, “The target of the in-depth resident health analysis project, which will be completed this year, will be expanded to include adolescents aged 15 and older, and the number of participants will be significantly increased to about 700 people, conducting the survey biennially to strengthen health management.”

He also said, “The fund support project, worth about 800 million KRW annually, will be increased every year from next year until completion, and after completion, we will actively consider increasing the amount beyond the current agreement,” adding, “We will continue to communicate with residents in the influence area to find additional support measures for residential environment improvement projects.”

According to the city, under the Waste Management Act, direct landfill of household waste is prohibited from 2026 in the metropolitan area and from 2030 in other regions. The Ministry of Environment urged 10 local governments in the metropolitan area to build new or expand incineration facilities on July 1st.

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