Gwangmyeong and Gunpo Join Hands for "Win-Win Incineration" of Household Waste...Direct Landfill Ban Head-On

Gwangmyeong and Gunpo Sign Agreement on Joint Use of Incineration Facilities
Inter-Municipal Collaboration for Shared Public Incineration Facilities
Annual Cross-Processing of 1,000 Tons of Waste... Budget Savings

Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Seungwon Park) will become the first in the nation to implement a "win-win incineration" model, jointly utilizing household waste incineration facilities with Gunpo City (Mayor Eunho Ha).

Seungwon Park, Mayor of Gwangmyeong (right), is posing for a commemorative photo with Eunho Ha, Mayor of Gunpo, after signing the "Mutual Win-Win Incineration Agreement for Stable Household Waste Disposal" in the Gwangmyeong City Hall conference room on the 9th. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

On March 9, Gwangmyeong City signed the "Mutual Win-Win Incineration Agreement for Stable Household Waste Disposal" with Gunpo City in the city hall's conference room, establishing a cooperative system for jointly utilizing household waste incineration facilities.

The core of this agreement is to appropriately incinerate each city's household waste within available capacity when either local government's resource recovery facility is unable to operate due to regular inspections, modernization projects, or emergency situations.

According to the agreement, the regular major maintenance periods—required at least twice a year for each incineration plant—will be scheduled alternately, and during shutdowns, a total of 1,000 tons of waste per year will be handled on a 1:1 mutual consignment basis.

This collaboration was proposed by Gwangmyeong City and actively embraced by Gunpo City as a proactive response to the comprehensive ban on direct landfill of household waste in the Seoul metropolitan area, which has been fully implemented this year.

An official from Gwangmyeong City explained that the two cities pursued cooperation, noting that both have residential-centered urban structures and similar patterns of waste generation.

Through this partnership, a "no-cost, mutual benefit" structure has been established, enabling the cities to minimize gaps in waste disposal and enhance facility operational stability in the event of incinerator shutdowns, all without incurring additional costs.

Additionally, by diversifying waste disposal routes within the region—rather than relying on distant external private consignments—it is expected that the cities can reduce their budgets and lower the environmental burden caused during transportation.

Seungwon Park, Mayor of Gwangmyeong City, stated, "This is a meaningful case where inter-municipal cooperation has created solutions amid the major environmental policy change of banning direct landfill in the metropolitan area. Going forward, Gwangmyeong City will continue to pursue resource circulation policies that protect citizens' environmental rights while reducing fiscal burdens, ultimately building a sustainable urban model."

Meanwhile, Gwangmyeong City has demonstrated its leading resource circulation capabilities by receiving a proactive administration merit award from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in 2024 for innovative policies such as the nation's first "customized free collection of discarded home appliances" and "specialized sorting of large waste."

In particular, in 2025, the city achieved a household waste recycling rate of 51.69%, surpassing the incineration rate of 48.31%.

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