Seoul to Mobilize Administrative Resources Ahead of 'Direct Landfill Ban' to Prevent Inconvenience

In order to minimize potential inconveniences arising from the ban on direct landfilling of municipal solid waste in the Seoul metropolitan area starting next year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and other local governments have decided to cooperate with the central government. Facing challenges in expanding public resource recovery facilities, the city will operate a joint response team with district offices to address the initial phase of the direct landfill ban.

On December 2, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it had signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon Metropolitan City to implement the ban on direct landfilling of municipal solid waste. The main goal is to process municipal solid waste in a stable manner and reduce inconvenience for citizens.

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According to the agreement between the Ministry of Climate and Environment and the three metropolitan governments, starting January 1 of next year, the direct landfilling of waste contained in volume-based waste bags will be fundamentally prohibited. Only contaminants and residues generated during incineration or recycling of municipal solid waste will be allowed to be landfilled. However, exceptions will be made in cases of disasters or other unavoidable circumstances.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will need to process approximately 210,000 tons of waste through means other than direct landfilling. This figure represents the amount of municipal solid waste sent by Seoul to the metropolitan landfill site last year.

To prepare for the ban on direct landfilling, the city has promoted initiatives such as reducing municipal solid waste, expanding recycling, and increasing the capacity of public incineration facilities. For example, Seoul established the nation’s first dedicated collection centers for textile scraps and discarded banners, enabling the recycling of waste that was previously landfilled. The recycling rate for textile scraps increased from 72% last year to 91% this year, and for discarded banners, from 49% to 84% over the same period.

To address the shortage of public incineration capacity, the city is constructing the Mapo Regional Resource Recovery Facility and undertaking a large-scale modernization project to refurbish aging existing facilities.

However, due to ongoing litigation regarding the Mapo Regional Resource Recovery Facility, the city will inevitably have to rely on private processing facilities for the time being. The appeal trial for the lawsuit filed by Mapo-gu residents against the Seoul mayor to cancel the selection of the site for the facility is scheduled for a verdict in February next year. In the first trial, the Seoul Metropolitan Government lost the case.

Private facilities have higher processing costs compared to public ones, and since there are none within Seoul, transportation costs also increase. In response, the city has held seven meetings with district offices to review the situation. From this month, the city and district offices will operate a joint response team for the direct landfill ban until the system stabilizes, working together to prevent confusion and delays in waste processing during the initial phase of implementation.

Kim Taekyun, First Vice Mayor of Seoul, stated, "We will mobilize all administrative resources to ensure that citizens do not experience inconvenience after the ban on direct landfilling is implemented." He added, "We will continue our efforts to reduce municipal solid waste and will prioritize the expansion of public incineration facilities to establish a stable waste management system."

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