The government is expected to set the grace period for the 'ban on direct landfilling of municipal waste' at a minimum of two years. If implemented as scheduled, starting next year, it will be prohibited to bury waste contained in standard volume-based waste bags in the ground in the Seoul metropolitan area. However, the government believes a grace period until the end of 2027 is necessary to prevent chaos caused by a shortage of incinerators.

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Getty Images Bank

원본보기 아이콘

According to an Asia Economy report on May 12, the Ministry of Environment is strongly considering postponing the 'ban on direct landfilling of municipal waste in the Seoul metropolitan area,' which was planned for implementation next year, by at least two years. The ban on direct landfilling of municipal waste is a system that prohibits burying household waste contained in standard volume-based waste bags without sorting or incineration. Once the measure is enforced, only incineration ash can be buried after being burned at incinerators. The policy will first be implemented in the Seoul metropolitan area in 2026 and expanded nationwide in 2030.

원본보기 아이콘

The main issue is the amount of waste generated in the Seoul metropolitan area. According to the Ministry of Environment's Resource Circulation Information System, in 2023, the average daily amount of waste discharged in standard volume-based bags in the Seoul metropolitan area was 10,257 tons. Of this, only 1,817 tons were recycled, while the rest was either incinerated (5,745 tons) or landfilled (1,692 tons). The remaining untreated waste (881 tons) was outsourced to private contractors. For the ban on direct landfilling to be successfully established, public incinerators must be able to process the 2,573 tons of waste that is currently being buried or sent elsewhere.

However, the processing capacity of public incinerators in the Seoul metropolitan area is severely insufficient. The facility capacity of public incinerators capable of burning municipal waste in the region is about 8,667 tons. However, considering facility aging and calorific value conditions, the actual daily processing volume of public incinerators decreases. In fact, in 2023, the daily processing volume of public incinerators was only 6,458 tons. It will be difficult to handle the additional 2,500 tons of waste expected to surge when the ban on direct landfilling is enforced.

원본보기 아이콘

Unprocessed waste must be sent to private incinerators, but even this is not easy. The processing cost per ton at public incinerators is set at around 70,000 to 140,000 won. In contrast, the cost at private incinerators can reach as high as 300,000 won per ton. The farther the incinerator, the more additional labor and transportation costs are incurred. There are concerns that if waste is concentrated at private incinerators, operators could raise prices by up to three times. These costs will ultimately be borne by residents of the Seoul metropolitan area.

The Ministry of Environment also believes that a grace period is unavoidable. If implementation is pushed through hastily, it could lead to a waste crisis similar to those in the past. At that time, as the end of the use of the metropolitan landfill approached and China tightened its waste import regulations, domestic recycling companies began stockpiling waste. To prevent administrative chaos in waste management, the Ministry of Environment is considering postponing implementation until the end of 2027, when a significant number of incinerators in the Seoul metropolitan area are expected to be completed.

Local governments in the Seoul metropolitan area are demanding that, at a minimum, the implementation be postponed by five years, the same as in other regions, or at least until all incinerators are completed. An official responsible for waste management in the metropolitan area stated, "Implementing the policy earlier than in other regions simply because more people live here is a form of reverse discrimination," emphasizing that "a two-year grace period is not enough to prevent confusion." Another local official added, "Even if the incinerators proceed without any issues, they will only be completed by the end of 2027," and said, "We cannot be sure that a two-year grace period will be sufficient."

However, the Ministry of Environment maintains that it is impossible to implement the policy in the same way as other regions, despite such requests from local governments. A Ministry of Environment official explained, "Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon have received more central government support because the ban on direct landfilling was to be implemented earlier," adding, "At this point, it is difficult to implement the policy at the same time as other regions." Another official from the ministry hinted, "If the system is postponed by as much as five years, there could be criticism that there is a lack of commitment to advancing waste management policies," and said, "Such an extended grace period will not be allowed."

The Ministry of Environment is also considering introducing a type of penalty system along with the grace period. If incineration capacity is not secured during the grace period, a kind of surcharge will be imposed to prompt the swift construction of incinerators.