Strengthening Crackdown on Illegal Disposal of Household Waste During Chuseok Holiday

The Ministry of Environment announced on the 24th that it will implement the 'Chuseok Holiday Household Waste Management Measures' to prevent waste accumulation during the Chuseok holiday period and inspect excessive packaging of gifts.

This measure, which will be carried out nationwide from the 25th to October 4th, plans to minimize residents' inconvenience by operating 'processing situation teams' in local governments and informing residents in advance about waste collection days during the holiday period.

Additional 'separation bins' and 'food waste collection containers' will be placed around detached houses, and waste collection and transportation will be operated normally to prevent odor generation.

A 'mobile cleaning team' will be operated for prompt collection and processing to prepare for temporary increases in waste or recyclable materials discarded around residential areas. At the same time, additional 'temporary storage sites' will be designated and spare capacity secured at 'public and private sorting centers.'

Unauthorized dumping will be monitored in areas prone to habitual waste dumping such as congested road sections, highway rest areas, and terminals, and excessive packaging will be intensively inspected mainly in large retail industries.

To eradicate illegal dumping, education (banners, village broadcasts, etc.) and patrol activities will be strengthened in vulnerable areas such as vacation spots, and fines (minimum 50,000 KRW) will be imposed upon detection of dumping acts.

For products suspected of excessive packaging such as holiday gift sets, compliance with packaging-to-space ratio and number of packaging layers will be inspected, and manufacturers will be fined up to 3 million KRW if violations are confirmed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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