Metropolitan Landfill Re-bidding Fails... Landfill Volume Reduction 추진

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The public contest for an alternative landfill site to process the waste generated by approximately 26 million residents in the Seoul metropolitan area has once again failed.

The Ministry of Environment, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Gyeonggi Province, and the Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation announced on the 9th that no local governments applied after the second public contest for the alternative landfill site in the metropolitan area closed.

The Ministry of Environment and three metropolitan cities including Incheon Metropolitan City have decided to temporarily suspend the public contest for the alternative landfill site and instead consider a two-step plan: banning direct landfill of household waste in 2026, followed by banning the import of construction waste to the metropolitan landfill site.

Previously, no local governments applied during the first public contest held from January to April. Despite relaxing the application conditions and re-announcing the contest in May, no local governments applied again.

The Ministry of Environment analyzed that the reason no local governments applied was because it is practically difficult to find a large land area of 1 million square meters or more, which meets the contest requirements, on land other than shared water surfaces such as the sea.

The Ministry of Environment and the three metropolitan cities judged that even if an additional contest were held, the likelihood of local governments applying is low, so they decided not to hold a third contest at this time.

Since no local governments applied for the re-announced alternative landfill site contest, the Ministry of Environment and the three metropolitan cities have decided to reduce the import of household and construction waste to the metropolitan landfill site.

First, starting in 2026 (with a one-year grace period), direct landfill of household waste will be prohibited. Household waste contained in volume-based waste bags must be sorted for recycling or incinerated, with only incineration ash being landfilled. The Ministry of Environment expects that the amount of household waste imported to the metropolitan landfill site will decrease to about 10-20% of the current level due to the ban on direct landfill of household waste.

The Ministry of Environment and the three metropolitan cities will consider a plan to completely ban the import of construction waste to the metropolitan landfill site in line with the timing of the ban on household waste import, in parallel with the ban on direct landfill of household waste.