[SeoulNOW] Why Did the Four Number Twos of 'Seoul Bromance' Join Hands?

'Yeopjip' Gwangjin, Dongdaemun, Seongdong, Jung-gu Unite
Free Disposal of Paid Waste Wood
Collaboration on Similar Local Festivals... Expanding the Scope

Four autonomous districts in Seoul have signed an agreement with an energy recycling company to recycle discarded timber waste as a resource, enabling them to save hundreds of millions of won in budget annually. From the left in the photo: Lee Sang-hoon, Deputy Mayor of Jung-gu; Yoo Bo-hwa, Deputy Mayor of Seongdong-gu; Lee In-geun, Deputy Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu; Park Sang-won, CEO of Cheonil Energy; Baek Il-heon, Deputy Mayor of Gwangjin-gu. (Photo by Dongdaemun-gu Office)

On the 22nd of last month, five men gathered in the 5th-floor conference room of Dongdaemun-gu Office in Seoul. It was a meeting between the CEO of a company that collects waste wood to produce energy and government officials. On that day, Baek Il-heon, Deputy Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, Lee In-geun, Deputy Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, Yoo Bo-hwa, Deputy Mayor of Seongdong-gu, and Lee Sang-hoon, Deputy Mayor of Jung-gu, signed a “Joint Agreement on Eco-friendly Renewable Energy Resource Utilization” with Park Sang-won, CEO of Cheonil Energy. It was a deal worth 228.1 million KRW annually.

Trees that are discarded during street tree or urban park leaf cleanup or pruning, or those that need to be cut or thinned in neighborhood hills, must be responsibly disposed of by the district office. This is called “forest tree waste” (unused forest biomass). If it is less than 5 tons, it is classified as household waste; if more, it is classified as business waste. Waste collection, transportation, and processing all incur costs. With rising labor and transportation costs, district offices nowadays must spend about 100,000 KRW per ton in taxes to process forest tree waste.

Among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, Jung-gu, which has the smallest area and the lowest green space ratio, is expected to generate about 161 tons of forest tree waste this year. Dongdaemun-gu, Gwangjin-gu, and Seongdong-gu, which have similar areas, each produce about 700 to 730 tons annually. The total for the four districts is 2,281 tons. The combined annual cost for processing forest tree waste in these four districts is 228.1 million KRW. With this agreement, the four districts will no longer have to spend this money. Based on current costs, the 10-year savings amount to 2.281 billion KRW.

This “magic” became possible by recycling forest tree waste, i.e., trash, into resources. The core of the agreement is “free processing” and “carbon reduction.” A company that produces wood chips for power generation collects forest tree waste and uses it as fuel for power plants (eco-friendly renewable energy), generating revenue, so it is economically viable to waive transportation and processing fees.

A scene of tree pruning work on roadside trees. The pruned branches are classified as woody waste.

From the district offices’ perspective, they gained two benefits: “carbon reduction” and “budget savings.” They could secure both justification and practical benefits, making the idea and collaboration worthwhile. Thanks to the cooperation of the four adjacent districts, economies of scale became possible, increasing bargaining power with the company. Each district office and the company also reduced the effort of repeating the same task four times. From the residents’ point of view, it is a welcome development as precious tax money can be saved and used elsewhere. Lee In-geun, Deputy Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “Because the four neighboring districts jointly promoted the agreement and could supply a certain volume stably to the company, even transportation costs could be waived.”

Among Seoul’s district offices, some with large areas and abundant forest resources generate more than 1,000 tons of forest tree waste annually. Districts such as Gangnam, Seocho, Gwanak, Gangseo, Nowon, Dobong, and Jongno have large areas or significant mountains within their jurisdiction. If free processing is expanded to all 25 districts in Seoul, an annual budget saving effect of over 2 billion KRW can be expected.

Many neighborhoods have similar festivals, programs, or newly installed facilities. While preserving the unique characteristics of each region, if economies of scale can be maximized through benchmarking and collaboration to save budgets and improve efficiency, everyone will applaud. Residents, district citizens, and all citizens are, after all, the people.