Mapo-gu 'Our Neighborhood Environmental Guardians' Emerge

Selection of 110 Local Seniors... Serving as Environmental Guardians for 10 Months from February to November
Pairs of Two Assigned to 3-4 Environmentally Vulnerable Areas per District for Dedicated Cleanup Activities

Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Gang-su) is enlisting local seniors as ‘Our Neighborhood Environmental Guardians’ to ensure cleanliness and safety in the area.

Mapo-gu is implementing the ‘Our Neighborhood Environmental Guardians’ project from February to November this year to provide practical wages to seniors seeking employment while maintaining a clean and safe living environment in the community.

‘Our Neighborhood Environmental Guardians’ is a program introduced by Mapo-gu last year to promote a healthy and active retirement for seniors. This year, Mapo-gu increased the number of participants by 10% compared to last year, selecting 110 seniors aged 65 and older as ‘Our Neighborhood Environmental Guardians’.

The environmental guardians selected through interviews work five days a week, three hours a day, and receive a monthly wage of 760,000 KRW. For safety, the guardians operate in pairs, with each team responsible for 3 to 4 environmentally vulnerable zones per neighborhood, including areas densely populated with one-room apartments and houses, commercial districts, and habitual illegal dumping sites.

The main activities of the environmental guardians include collecting coffee grounds and milk cartons, patrolling and educating in habitual illegal dumping areas, cleaning alleyways, removing illegal flyers, creating green spaces in small gaps and improving scenery, and patrolling safety-vulnerable zones.

Last year, the neighborhood environmental guardians conducted a total of 1,404 patrols against illegal dumping in their assigned areas and maintained storm drains and gutters 1,030 times, playing a significant role in preventing damage caused by summer rainfall.

They also collected coffee grounds from coffee shops to produce 9,750 eco-friendly deodorants, some of which were composted. Additionally, 45,180 milk cartons were collected and exchanged for 1,004 rolls of tissue paper, which were donated to neighbors in need through the Mapo Welfare Foundation, bringing warmth to the community.

This year, to increase the recycling of coffee grounds, the environmental guardians will visit coffee shops near incineration-free stores and neighborhood community centers twice a week to collect coffee grounds.

Mapo-gu regularly provides safety training, basic education, and job training to the environmental guardians to prevent accidents during their activities and plans to further enhance the quality of the ‘Our Neighborhood Environmental Guardians’ project through periodic inspections.

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, stated, “Since the participants are seniors, we are doing our best to enable them to engage in economic activities within their living areas. Mapo-gu will continue to create quality jobs and implement various welfare projects to ensure that seniors can live happy lives.”

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