Seoul goes on waste diet: Reduce output of rubbish, win benefits

SEOUL – Seoul announced an aggressive plan to cut household waste as South Korea’s capital braces itself for full implementation of a nationwide ban on landfilling unprocessed garbage.

Under the initiative, the city aims to reduce the annual volume of general waste generated by residents by the equivalent of one standard volume-based rubbish bag – 10 litres – per person by 2027, an amount comparable to the daily waste output of an entire district, or about 120 tonnes.

The announcement comes as the metropolitan area enters a new regulatory phase in 2026. Local governments can no longer bury household waste in landfills unless it has first been processed through incineration or sorting. Only incineration ash may now be landfilled.

The shift brings a formal end to South Korea’s long-standing practice of direct landfilling, which for decades allowed municipalities to send volume-based garbage bags straight into landfill pits with minimal treatment.

The system had raised persistent environmental concerns, including odour complaints and the leakage of contaminated water.

In South Korea, residents pay for household waste based on the volume they discard rather than a flat fee. Individuals must purchase official city-issued garbage bags ranging from five litres to 50 litres, with the price of the bag serving as the disposal charge.

Seoul’s four public incineration plants, in Gangnam-gu, Mapo-gu, Nowon-gu and Yangcheon-gu, currently handle about 2,200 tonnes of waste a day.

The city, however, generates around 3,000 tonnes daily, leaving a sizeable gap that must be filled through private incinerators.

Facing pressure to comply with the new national rules, city officials say the only sustainable path is to sharply reduce household waste at the source, while expanding public processing capacity over the long term.

The city’s strategy centres on large-scale public participation programmes coupled with upgrades to waste-sorting systems and infrastructure.

Seoul plans to gradually build the conditions needed for all household waste to be processed through public incineration facilities by 2033.

“Our priority for the first half of this year is building a citywide consensus on the need to reduce waste,” a Seoul official said, adding that public participation must come before any structural reform.

The first phase of the civic campaign aims to encourage residents to learn proper recycling practices and commit to them in daily life.

Beginning in February with Mayor Oh Se-hoon and followed by the heads of all 25 city districts, the city hopes to collect 100,000 public pledges.

The pledge includes everyday actions such as preventing food waste from mixing with general garbage, keeping plastic and vinyl out of volume-based bags, separating paper materials, prioritising reusable containers and carrying shopping bags and coffee tumblers.

A second programme, the “100-Day Household Waste Diet”, invites 354 residents and civic groups – symbolising the city’s per capita daily waste generation of 354g – to track and reduce their own waste output over a 100-day period.

Top-performing participants will be recognised with city awards and Eco Mileage points.

The city will also recruit 25 apartment complexes to take part in a year-long project measuring and reducing recyclable materials thrown into general waste, with high-performing complexes eligible for up to 10 million won (S$8,800) in Eco Mileage benefits and environmental upgrades.

Seoul will additionally deploy teams to residential neighbourhoods, traditional markets and areas with large foreign resident populations to offer on-site waste-sorting education. In areas found to have high contamination in their trash streams, officials will conduct spot checks by opening volume-based bags to identify improperly mixed items and reinforce proper recycling methods.

The city estimates that achieving the goal of reducing one rubbish bag per person per year would eliminate about 60 tonnes of household waste per day – equivalent to roughly 44,000 tonnes over two years.

Such reductions are urgently needed, given the mismatch between the pace of new regulations and the region’s current disposal capacity. Yet the construction of new public incinerators has stalled since 2021 due to fierce local opposition and difficulties securing appropriate sites.

Experts warn that raising incineration capacity alone will not provide a lasting solution. Studies show that more than half of the material inside volume-based garbage bags consists of recyclable plastics and vinyl that were discarded incorrectly.

Advanced pre-sorting technologies could reduce the amount requiring incineration or landfilling by up to 80 per cent, they say, but only if paired with sweeping public education and improvements in local recycling systems.

“Reducing household waste is a starting point for resource circulation and a crucial task linked to expanding public waste-processing capacity,” said Mr Kwon Min, head of the Seoul Climate and Environment Headquarters.

He added that the city aims to use broad public engagement to prepare for the nationwide landfill ban and to lay the foundation for Seoul’s 2050 carbon neutrality ambitions. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK