[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The majority of Incheon citizens feel uncomfortable with the disposal of Seoul and Gyeonggi's waste in Incheon, and believe that the current metropolitan landfill site should be closed by 2025.
According to Incheon City on the 28th, in a recent 'Metropolitan Landfill Closure and Resource Circulation Policy Citizen Awareness Survey' conducted with 1,000 citizens, 86.9% of respondents answered that "it is problematic to dispose of waste in Incheon that was not generated in Incheon" when asked about the disposal of waste generated in Seoul and Gyeonggi in Incheon.
Regarding the issue of ending the use of the metropolitan landfill site, 83.4% of respondents said, "The suffering of Incheon citizens who have endured for over 30 years will be prolonged, so it should be closed by 2025."
In the survey on awareness of the metropolitan landfill closure, 74.8% of respondents answered "aware," showing a significant increase compared to 37.9% last year.
However, opinions were divided on the direction of creating a new alternative landfill site: 51% of respondents said, "Incheon should pursue securing its own landfill site," while 49% said, "Efforts should be made together with Seoul and Gyeonggi to solve the metropolitan landfill issue."
Incheon City has been promoting a major shift in resource circulation policies, declaring "waste independence" last year and proclaiming "Environmental Special City Incheon" to end the metropolitan landfill site.
Regarding this policy direction, 46.1% of respondents said it is "very desirable," and 48.3% said it is "somewhat desirable," indicating that the vast majority of citizens actively agree with the city's resource circulation policy direction.
In particular, the resource circulation policy has also influenced citizens' waste disposal awareness and behavior.
When asked how much they have reduced household waste compared to last year, 45.1% of respondents answered "generally reduced," and 55.4% said they "greatly reduced or generally reduced" the use of disposable products.
In fact, the amount of household waste directly landfilled from Incheon to the metropolitan landfill site from January to May this year was 42,151 tons, a 20.8% decrease compared to 53,233 tons during the same period last year.
Currently, waste from Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi in the metropolitan area has been processed at the metropolitan landfill site in Seo-gu, Incheon for nearly 30 years since 1992.
Incheon City declared the end of the metropolitan landfill site use in 2025 and is promoting a plan to create its own landfill site (Eco Land) on Yeongheungdo Island, while Seoul and Gyeonggi are recruiting local governments willing to host alternative landfill sites.
This citizen awareness survey was conducted by Union Research, a polling agency, over three days from the 16th, targeting 1,000 Incheon citizens aged 19 and older through online and telephone methods. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
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