2024 Gwanak-gu's Creation of a 'Resource Circulation Society'

‘Ban on Direct Landfilling of Metropolitan Area Household Waste in 2026’ Efforts to Build a Sustainable Resource Circulation System
▲Smart Used Cooking Oil Collection Bins ▲Dedicated Recycling Bags ▲Free Coffee Grounds Collection and Other Resource Circulation Policies in Daily Life Seoul Wins Top Award in Recycling Performance Evaluation, Gold Prize in Excellent Local Government Competition for Free Home Collection Service of Waste Electronics

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee), dedicated to creating a clean living environment through the establishment of a sustainable resource circulation system, has made positive changes in the resource circulation sector this year.

For ‘resource circulation,’ it is important to minimize environmental impact by reducing waste generation through reuse or recycling of waste.

This year, the district expanded various infrastructures to reduce waste and establish a resource circulation system, implementing community-based policies together with residents.

First, Gwanak-gu became the first in the nation to introduce ‘smart waste cooking oil collection bins,’ installing a total of 10 locations. These smart bins allow residents to dispose of containers filled with waste cooking oil, which is then recycled into new energy sources such as biofuel.

Ms. Lee Eun-sook, a resident of Sillim-dong, said, “It’s really useful to collect points when I put waste cooking oil into the smart collection bins installed at the community center,” adding, “It’s a win-win situation because I can easily dispose of waste cooking oil, which was difficult to handle before, protect the environment, and receive benefits.”

This year, the district’s recycling sorting rate steadily increased to 69%, compared to 57.4% in 2022 and 63% in 2023. This improvement is thanks to residents’ meticulous separation and disposal, practicing resource circulation in daily life.

The policy that greatly contributed to establishing a culture of separated disposal was undoubtedly the ‘distribution of dedicated recycling bags’ project.

The district distributed three types of ‘dedicated recycling bags’ (▲transparent PET bottles ▲vinyl ▲cans, bottles, paper, plastics, etc.) to approximately 69,000 households living in single-family and multi-family homes within the area.

By distributing 50 bags per household, totaling 3.45 million bags, mixed disposal decreased significantly, and the recovery rate of recyclable resources increased sharply.

Additionally, the district distributed ‘dedicated waste vinyl bags’ to about 10,000 business sites in the area. Waste vinyl, although recyclable, was often mixed with general waste and incinerated or landfilled.

To address this, each business received 30 dedicated bags for separating waste vinyl along with disposal guidelines. Toward the end of the year, an additional supply of dedicated bags was provided to 2,700 businesses with high waste vinyl output, such as bakeries, snack bars, and fast-food outlets.

The district also promoted an eco-friendly culture by implementing a ‘transparent PET bottle deposit system’ with a ‘resource circulation club’ involving about 250 local residents. Under this system, transparent PET bottles are exchanged for volume-based waste bags. As of this year, approximately 90 tons of transparent PET bottles were collected, securing high-quality recycled raw materials.

Through these efforts, the district received the top award in the ‘Seoul City Recycling Performance Evaluation’ and the Minister of Environment Award at the ‘Excellent Local Government Competition for Free Home Collection Service of Waste Home Appliances,’ establishing itself as a leading model for autonomous district resource circulation policies.

Mayor Park Jun-hee stated, “With the ban on direct landfill of metropolitan area household waste approaching in about a year, efforts to reduce waste are urgently needed,” adding, “We will continue to develop policies involving residents to reduce household waste and increase recycling rates, strengthening our status as a resource circulation city.”

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