Gwangju Dong-gu Wins Grand Prize at Korea Environment Awards

Public Sector Smart Green City Sector

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Im Taek) announced on the 7th that it won the grand prize in the 'Public Sector Smart Green City Category' at the '2022 17th Korea Environmental Awards' held on the 6th at the DMC Tower for Small and Medium Enterprises in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul.

The 'Korea Environmental Awards' is a representative award in the environmental field hosted by the Korea Environmental Awards Committee and the environmental media 'The Future is in Our Hands,' and sponsored by the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

It is awarded to organizations and individuals who have made efforts with an eco-friendly approach throughout the entire process of living environments including housing, policy, and public sectors, as well as product production, distribution, consumption, and service manufacturing environments.

Dong-gu declared 2020 as the inaugural year of the 'Garbage-Free Village' through the New Year's ceremony and has been promoting various environmental innovation projects created together with residents over the past two years, including ▲ resident participation gardens ▲ resource circulation village creation ▲ 100-day challenge lifestyle experiment group to reduce waste ▲ resident education to improve environmental awareness.

As a result, compared to 2019, last year saw a remarkable achievement with a 5.38% reduction in waste generation and a 100% increase in recycling rate. Based on this, Dong-gu was the only district in Gwangju selected for the Ministry of Environment's public contest project worth 10 billion KRW, the 'Smart Green City Creation Project,' and is successfully promoting the 'Smart Green City Kkodume Resource Circulation Village where Waste Becomes Flowers' project.

Mayor Im Taek of Dong-gu said, "This award is a valuable achievement accomplished together by local residents and public officials," and added, "We will continue to do our best to build a resource circulation leading city and a smart green city to create a 'low-carbon eco-friendly ecological city' where humans and the environment can coexist."