Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Crack Down on Illegal Activities of Household Waste Disposal Contractors

Gyeonggi Province will conduct crackdowns on subcontractors handling household waste.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police announced on the 13th that from the 18th to the 29th of this month, they will intensively crack down on illegal activities targeting household waste separation and collection subcontractors, moving companies, and estate cleaning businesses that process waste without reporting during the two-week period.

According to the current Waste Management Act, household waste generated within the jurisdiction must be processed by local governments or subcontracted to licensed waste disposal companies.

The main crackdown targets include ▲ unauthorized waste processing (collection and transportation) ▲ unreported waste processing ▲ proper waste disposal compliance ▲ installation of unreported wastewater discharge facilities, among others.

Poster for Crackdown on Household Waste Disposal Contractors by Gyeonggi-do Special Project Police Unit

Under the current Waste Management Act, those who collect, transport, or process waste as a business without a license face imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million KRW, and those who process waste without reporting face imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW. Additionally, the Water Environment Conservation Act imposes imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million KRW for installing or operating wastewater discharge facilities without reporting.

The Special Judicial Police of the province stated that collecting and storing waste without separate permission has a high likelihood of illegal disposal such as incineration or landfill, and if the business goes bankrupt, the waste may become abandoned waste. Therefore, they will also verify compliance with waste processing standards and methods, and the proper disposal of waste generated during the sorting process of household waste collected by these companies.

Hong Eun-gi, head of the province’s Special Judicial Police, said, "While recycling-related industries should be actively supported and fostered to address resource limitations and climate change such as carbon neutrality, we plan to strictly investigate illegal waste disposal activities that cause confusion in the waste disposal system by cleverly abusing or violating current laws."