"Why Are There Public Trash Bins in New York and Tokyo but Not in Seoul?"... Plans to Gradually Increase Them

After the Introduction of Volume-Based Waste Fee, Public Trash Bins Decrease
"No Place to Dispose of Trash on the Streets" Complaints Arise

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to gradually increase the number of street trash bins.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 12th, Seoul announced that it plans to expand the number of trash bins in the city from the current 4,956 to 5,500 by the end of this year, 6,500 in 2024, and 7,500 in 2025.

Since the introduction of the volume-based waste fee system in 1995, Seoul began gradually removing public trash bins as more citizens started disposing of waste in them.

As a result, more citizens expressed inconvenience, saying "There is nowhere to throw away trash on the streets." Recently, complaints have also arisen asking, "Why are there no trash bins in Seoul when cities like New York, Tokyo, and Paris all have them on their streets?"

According to a 2021 survey conducted by Seoul, 73.3% of respondents felt that "there are too few trash bins." In contrast, only 1.5% answered that "there are many trash bins."

In response, Seoul plans to increase the related budget annually and install additional trash bins mainly in areas with high foot traffic such as Gwanghwamun, Teheran-ro, Yeouido, and near bus stops. They are also considering installing cigarette butt disposal bins next to trash bins.

However, autonomous districts responsible for directly managing the trash bins reportedly feel burdened by the expansion due to cleanliness issues around the bins. Regarding this, Seoul stated, "We will continue to request cooperation."

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