"Tteokbokki Sauce on Plastic as Is..." Apartment Complex Faces Recycling Sorting Conflict [Reporter Han's Visit]

Recent Seoul Apartment Management Office Urges Residents to Strictly Separate Recycling
Plastic Containers with Tteokbokki Disposed Without Removing Plastic Wrap
Residents Complain "Some Residents Do Not Separate Recyclables"

A recycling station at an apartment complex in Seoul. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Conflicts have arisen in some apartment complexes due to improper recycling separation. The management office issued a notice asking residents to comply with recycling rules. Security guards expressed difficulty in enforcing improvements unless violations are caught on the spot.

Recently, a management office of an apartment complex in Seoul distributed a notice urging residents to properly separate recyclables. According to the notice, the management office stated, "The recycling collection site looks more like a garbage dump," and requested that recyclables be disposed of in designated areas. They added, "Your small consideration can enhance the dignity of the apartment," urging strict adherence to recycling disposal guidelines.

Recycling separation became mandatory starting with the implementation of the volume-based waste fee system in 1995, followed by the 2002 "Guidelines on Separation and Disposal Marking System" (currently the Guidelines on Separation and Collection of Recyclable Resources). According to this law, mayors, county heads, and district chiefs must sort recyclable resources transported to collection and sorting centers by detailed categories to minimize the generation of final waste.

Recyclable items include △ paper products such as newspapers, books, notebooks, copy paper, paper packs, calendars, wrapping paper, paper cups, milk cartons, and paper boxes; △ bottles such as beverage bottles, liquor bottles, drink bottles, and other bottles; △ cans such as beverage cans, food cans, powdered milk cans, and canned food containers; and scrap metal including tools, wires, nails, iron plates, metal scraps, aluminum, stainless steel, aluminum sashes, and other non-ferrous and ferrous metals.

Some items are difficult to recycle, including plastic containers that do not melt easily with heat, telephones, sockets, electric heating devices, buttons, cosmetic containers, tableware, composite material containers, and PVC building materials.

A recycling station at an apartment complex in Seoul. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The problem lies in the fact that many recyclable items are not properly separated and are effectively treated as waste, leading to significant resource waste.

The Korea Consumer Federation conducted an online survey from November 6 to 10 last year targeting 1,000 adult men and women nationwide to assess consumer recycling practices. The results showed that one in three people practiced incorrect separation and disposal methods.

Although materials with different compositions should be separated, 62% of respondents did not remove labels when disposing of plastic bottles such as water bottles, the highest rate. This was especially high among △ men (64.7%) △ people in their 40s (66.1%) △ villa residents (70.6%).

While food waste and general waste should be separated, 50.6% mistakenly disposed of fruit seeds such as watermelon and persimmon seeds in food waste bags. This was notably higher among △ women (55.9%) △ people in their 50s (55.8%) △ villa residents (50.4%).

Disposal of roots and peels of green onions and onions in food waste bags was also incorrect in 45% of cases, with higher rates among △ women (46.2%) △ people in their 50s (51.8%) △ villa residents (52.1%).

Regarding safety measures when disposing of waste, 31.4% of respondents did not puncture butane gas or spray containers before disposal. This was higher among △ women (38.6%) △ people in their 30s (37.7%) △ villa residents (34.5%).

Additionally, 24.3% did not wrap broken glass in newspapers or similar materials before disposal, with higher rates among △ men (28.2%) △ people in their 20s (25.3%) △ apartment residents (26.7%).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Apartment residents sympathize with the reasons for recycling but point out that some do not properly follow the rules, resulting in recyclables becoming waste.

A man in his 30s, office worker A, said, "I have seen residents throwing recyclables without separating them at the recycling site," and added, "Even if it is a bit bothersome, I hope residents and management staff follow the recycling rules properly."

There are also opinions that food waste separation is not done well. Another man in his 30s, office worker B, said, "Chicken bones cannot be classified as food waste," and pointed out, "Besides separation issues, hard items like bones can be dangerous during the recycling process of food waste."

Plastic containers frequently used for delivery food orders are also problematic. Many delivery containers have plastic film melted and attached to the top, which does not come off easily. Unless plastic and film are separated before disposal, they cannot be recycled.

A man in his 40s, office worker C, said, "Whenever I order tteokbokki, the container is always an issue," and added, "They are basically just thrown away as trash." He emphasized, "Many people do not wash containers, but containers that held soup should definitely be cleaned before disposal."

Given this situation, posts asking about recycling disposal guidelines appear on an online cafe where apartment residents gather. One resident posted, "I have a large pot and want to know if I should attach a large waste sticker before disposing of it." Another resident replied, "It depends on the size, but you can probably dispose of it in the scrap metal collection area."

Security guards expressed that it is practically difficult to enforce recycling separation unless they meet residents on-site during guidance. A security guard in his 70s, C, said, "For paper and paper packs, if possible, empty the contents and rinse with water, then dispose of them separately from general waste paper." He emphasized, "For beverage bottles, remove the caps, empty the contents, and never put foreign substances like cigarette butts inside."

However, he lamented, "Unless residents who dispose of items properly are immediately identified and warned, the notice is all we can do. In reality, security guards sometimes have to work hard to separate recyclables themselves."