Gangneung City Emerges as a Waste-to-Resource City Balancing Environment and Economy

Gangneung City Takes Proactive Steps with New Waste Incineration Facility
Landfill Lifespan Extended by 60 Years, Generating 3.5 Billion Won in Revenue
Annual Savings of 2.6 Billion Won Through Reduced Landfill Volume, Achieving an Environment-Economy Virtuous Cycle

The stable waste management infrastructure established by Gangneung City, Gangwon Province (Mayor Kim Hongkyu), is being recognized as a leading national model.

Kim Hongkyu, mayor of Gangneung, is inspecting a waste disposal facility. Photo by Gangneung City

According to the revised Enforcement Rules of the Waste Management Act (Annex 5) in 2021, direct landfill of municipal solid waste will be completely banned in non-metropolitan areas starting in 2030.

In preparation for this, Gangneung City began construction of a new incineration facility in November 2020 and commenced operations in September 2023, seven years ahead of the full implementation of the law.

This project, with a total investment of 75.9 billion won, established a wide-area cooperation system with Pyeongchang County, securing 53 billion won in national and provincial funding, thereby achieving a budget savings of 24.2 billion won. The facility, jointly operated by Gangneung City and Pyeongchang County, is now positioned as a model for interregional, mutually beneficial resource circulation governance.

The waste incineration facility, with a daily processing capacity of 190 tons (operated in two parallel units), has reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill by more than 83% since its operation began. Moving away from the past structure where 100% of municipal waste was landfilled, currently only 20 tons of incineration ash and non-combustible waste are being landfilled.

As a result, the usable lifespan of Gangneung City's landfill facility has been significantly extended to more than 60 years (until the mid-2080s), allowing Gangneung City to secure both stable waste management and environmental sustainability.

Additionally, by utilizing surplus heat generated during the incineration process, the city produced a total of 42,578 MWh of electricity over two years using a steam turbine generator, selling 28,510 MWh of this electricity and generating approximately 3.5 billion won in revenue.

In particular, by offsetting its own electricity consumption (about 7,000 MWh per year), the city achieved annual operating cost savings of around 2.6 billion won. As a result, Gangneung City is being recognized for building an energy self-sufficient environmental infrastructure that goes beyond a simple waste treatment facility.

Gangneung City, Advancing as a Waste Resource Recovery City that Balances Environment and Economy Facility Overview. Provided by Gangneung City

Through wide-area cooperation with Pyeongchang County, the city not only reduced project costs but also established a joint system for sharing operating expenses. As of 2024, out of the total operating cost of 6.2 billion won, Gangneung City's burden was reduced to about 3.4 billion won after deducting 1.8 billion won in electricity sales revenue and 1 billion won in contributions from Pyeongchang County. This is considered a model case, with operating efficiency improved by more than 45% compared to other local governments.

Starting with the operation of the waste incineration facility, Gangneung City is strengthening its overall resource circulation system by installing a municipal resource recovery center, improving waste heat recovery efficiency, and advancing emission reduction technologies. Under the new paradigm of "waste as energy," the city is emerging as a leading resource circulation city where the environment and economy coexist.

Mayor Kim Hongkyu stated, "Through the stable operation of the waste incineration facility, we will ensure that the waste from Gangneung City and Pyeongchang County is processed in an environmentally friendly manner," adding, "We will realize a sustainable resource circulation economy city where the environment and economy are in harmony."

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