Ministry of Environment Signals Possible Administrative Sanctions Over Cheongju Company's Refusal to Collect Waste
Cheongju City: "Official Response Due Today"... Recommends Price Adjustment and Contract Renewal
Up to 1 Million KRW Fine and 3-Month Processing Ban Possible Under Waste Management Act
Asia Economy DB=Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of Environment has warned that it will impose administrative sanctions such as fines and disposal bans on companies that refuse to collect waste. This strong response aims to prevent a 'waste collection crisis' caused by the aftermath of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Last month, about 10 waste collection and sorting companies located in Cheongju, Chungbuk Province, demanded that local governments publicly collect waste vinyl and waste plastics generated from apartments (multi-family housing), citing business deterioration. They stated they would only collect valuable waste paper and scrap metal. They declared that if their demands were not met, they would begin refusing collection starting September 1.
In response, on the 3rd, the Ministry of Environment and Cheongju City stated, "It violates fairness with other multi-family housing where a price linkage system has been implemented to secure industry profits," and that "only blanket public collection for all items (not just some) is possible." They added, "For companies that actually refuse collection, administrative procedures will be carried out according to relevant laws, and the affected multi-family housing will be immediately switched to public responsibility collection led by local governments."
Since the 22nd of last month, Cheongju City has sent official letters to companies that announced refusal to collect to formally ascertain their intentions. Responses to the letters are expected to be gathered by 6 p.m. that day. For companies maintaining their refusal stance, the city plans to strongly recommend price adjustments and contract renewals.
However, if actual collection refusal occurs in September, administrative procedures such as fines and waste disposal bans will be enforced. Under the Waste Management Act, waste disposal reporters cannot refuse waste collection without justifiable reasons such as business suspension or closure. Violations can result in fines up to 1 million KRW and disposal bans for up to three months.
The situation in Cheongju City arose due to increased disposable product generation from the recent COVID-19 outbreak and a decline in prices for PET recycling raw materials. Since April, plastic recycling raw material prices have remained low due to reduced demand and exports caused by COVID-19. Last month, the sales price of PET was 595 KRW per kilogram, a 30% decrease compared to the same month last year.
The Ministry of Environment is implementing measures such as restricting imports of waste paper and waste plastics and publicly stockpiling plastic recycling raw materials like PET and polypropylene (PP). Initially, 8,500 tons of PET were planned for public stockpiling, but after reaching 6,256 tons on the 4th of last month, exports resumed, and as of the 1st of this month, 5,920 tons remain stockpiled.
The Ministry plans to deploy 10,000 resource managers to local governments using the third supplementary budget (approximately 42.2 billion KRW). They will assign 6,260 to multi-family housing, 3,780 to public sorting centers, and 803 to rural village collection points to support recycling separation and sorting. Lee Young-gi, Director of the Resource Circulation Policy Division at the Ministry of Environment, said, "The government will minimize instability in the recycling market caused by COVID-19 and other factors and will closely monitor related situations to respond immediately to prevent public inconvenience such as collection refusals."
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