To Save 2,300 Won... Dumping Trash on the Street and 'Sneaking' Only the Volume-Based Waste Bag

A man in his 60s who dumped garbage in volume-based waste bags by the roadside and ran away carrying only the bags was caught by the police. On the 25th, the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station announced that they have booked and are investigating a man in his 60s, Mr. A, on charges of embezzlement of lost property after opening volume-based waste bags containing garbage, dumping the garbage, and stealing only the bags.

Mr. A is suspected of stealing 75ℓ volume-based waste bags (priced at 2,300 won each) twice on the 8th and 14th from a residential area in Songjeong-dong, Gwangsan-gu, where garbage was being collected. The investigation revealed that Mr. A opened the volume-based waste bags, dumped the garbage by the roadside, and fled with the empty bags.

A man in his 60s who discarded trash in a volume-based waste bag by the roadside and then ran away carrying only the bag was caught by the police. On the 25th, the Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju announced that they have booked and are investigating a man in his 60s, Mr. A, on charges of embezzlement of lost property after opening a volume-based waste bag containing trash, dumping the trash, and stealing only the bag.
[Photo by Asia Economy]

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Mr. A reportedly told the police that he stole the bags for his own use. The police received a report from Mr. B, a caf? owner near the incident site, stating that he was falsely accused of illegal dumping and fined. Mr. A was apprehended through CCTV tracking.

More local governments are promoting the introduction of a pilot project for the 'Real-name System for Volume-based Waste Bags.'
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

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Recently, cases of unfair illegal dumping fines, like that of caf? owner Mr. B who was falsely accused, have been increasing. Especially, searching online communities reveals many cases where people were unfairly fined for illegal dumping.

The most common case is when someone receives a fine because another person mixed food waste into a general waste bag that was not fully filled. There are also cases where people received fine notices because someone illegally dumped garbage inside delivery boxes that were put out for recycling.

The Ministry of Environment and local governments are aware that unfair victims may arise due to the practice of detecting illegal dumping based on personal information found on delivery invoices or receipts inside the garbage. A local government official explained, "There are limits to detection using other methods such as CCTV, so personal information found in the garbage is still inevitably used as a major detection method." Meanwhile, illegally dumped garbage is left unattended, and food waste covered with mold lying among garbage bags torn open by stray cats spreads a foul odor on the streets. The moment improperly disposed garbage is left unattended, the area quickly turns into a hotspot for illegal dumping, and during holidays, it becomes a full-blown garbage crisis.

In response, some local governments are conducting door-to-door recycling education by village, posting banners, and producing and distributing booklets containing recycling guidelines to promote awareness. Additionally, the number of local governments pushing to introduce pilot projects for a "waste real-name system" is increasing.

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