Annual 2,000 Tons of Waste Wood Emitted in Jung-gu, Seoul Reborn as Solid Fuel

[Seoul District News] Jung-gu, Seoul Signs Waste Wood Resource Circulation MOU with Cheonil Energy and Hwayoung Industry: Annual 2,000 Tons Free Processing, Approx. 100 Million KRW Budget Savings Over 5 Years & Stable Waste Disposal; Companies Secure Raw Materials for Resource Circulation... Undergrounding Project in Okindong 47-15 to 47-496, Jongno-gu Scheduled for Completion in First Half of 2023

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Starting in 2023, 2,000 tons of waste wood generated annually in Jung-gu, Seoul, will be reborn as solid fuel.

Jung-gu (Mayor Kim Gil-seong) signed a resource circulation agreement for waste wood with eco-friendly energy innovation company Cheonil Energy and its subsidiary Hwayoung Industry on the 9th. The core of the agreement is to convert waste wood, which was previously incinerated or landfilled, into solid fuel.

Through this, waste wood such as large household waste like wardrobes and desks, and waste pallets used for paper transportation in printing shops will be reborn as energy sources.

Waste wood refers to products or materials made of wood that have reached the end of their usage period and have become waste. In the past, they were incinerated or landfilled, but as resource recycling has become important, they are now regenerated or recycled through various processes.

Generally, waste wood is generated mainly at factories or construction sites, where wood is widely used. Waste wood can also be frequently found at demolition sites.

In daily life, waste wood is often generated from wooden products used as furniture or accessories. Pallets used to move logistics in business sites are also discarded as waste when damaged or broken and can no longer be used.

Waste wood from factories, construction sites, and demolition sites is classified as business waste and is handled by the respective businesses themselves, but furniture and waste pallets are handled as large household waste by the district office.

However, such waste wood is classified as non-acceptable waste at Mapo Resource Recovery Facility and the Metropolitan Landfill, so it must be processed by private companies.

Therefore, large household waste is collected by cleaning agencies upon reporting to the district office or cleaning contractors, gathered at the Jung-gu Resource Recycling Processing Center, and then sent to waste wood processing contractors for incineration or landfill.

The amount processed this way reaches about 2,000 tons. The processing cost is also close to 20 million KRW, which is a considerable budget.

Cheonil Energy and its subsidiary Hwayoung Industry, which signed the agreement with Jung-gu, are the largest waste wood processing companies nationwide and energy innovation companies producing renewable energy from waste wood and other waste.

They have business sites in Pocheon (Cheonil Energy) and Goyang (Hwayoung Industry), possessing the largest processing facilities nationwide, handling 25% of the metropolitan area’s and 15% of the country’s waste wood.

Moreover, besides Pocheon and Goyang, five other factories are located in Gyeonggi Province, allowing processing at other sites even when Pocheon and Goyang sites undergo maintenance. Notably, the Jung-gu Resource Recycling Processing Center in Seosomun is about 40 km away, enabling smooth transportation.

Until now, Jung-gu had annual contracts with waste wood processing contractors, but by signing a five-year long-term business agreement with Hwayoung Industry, it can now stably process waste wood. Additionally, it can reduce the approximately 20 million KRW processing cost. Over five years, this amounts to a budget reduction of about 100 million KRW.

Kim Gil-seong, Mayor of Jung-gu, said, "Now is the time more than ever to contemplate waste reduction and find solutions," adding, "We will continue to take the lead in resource circulation through creative methods at the community level."

From the second half of next year, tangled overhead wires like spider webs will no longer be seen in the Okindong area of Jongno-gu.

Jongno-gu (Mayor Jeong Mun-heon) is promoting the "Electricity and Communication Line Undergrounding Project" to create a pleasant village environment and prevent safety accidents such as fires and disconnections by burying or relocating overhead wires and removing utility poles.

The target area is the section from 47-15 to 47-496 Okindong, which is part of the central area connected by the Okindong Circular Road opened last October.

Until now, the disorderly overhead wires have been criticized for degrading urban aesthetics, posing a risk of falling during natural disasters like typhoons, and causing pedestrian safety accidents.

Accordingly, the district will invest about 1.5 billion KRW in construction according to the "Okindong Managed Residential Environment Improvement Project Maintenance Plan (Seoul Metropolitan Government Notice No. 2019-244)." Excavation is scheduled for early March.

To address the issues of narrow and steep alleys and limited vehicle traffic, utility poles located on a 240m side road will be removed and undergrounded, followed by road maintenance. Two ground-mounted switches and one transformer will be installed respectively.

The project completion deadline is the end of June 2023, with participation from six telecommunications companies including Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), KT, SK Telecom, and LG Uplus.

Mayor Jeong Mun-heon said, "Since this is an essential process to improve residents' quality of life and regional development, we ask for your patience with temporary inconveniences such as construction noise and vibrations," adding, "We will thoroughly organize the tangled overhead lines to create a safe and pleasant residential environment."

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