Discarded Waste Wood in Dongjak-gu Reborn as an Eco-Friendly Energy Source

On the 9th, Dongjak-gu and Misong Environmental Industry Sign MOU... Annual Savings of About 60 Million Won in Timber Waste Disposal Costs

Dongjak-gu (Mayor Park Il-ha) will lead efforts to reduce the budget and practice carbon neutrality by recycling timber waste generated from urban forest management sites into eco-friendly energy sources.

The district announced that on the 9th, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Misong Environmental Industry to smoothly promote the resource recovery of timber waste at Dongjak-gu Office.

The signing ceremony was attended by key officials including Park Il-ha, Mayor of Dongjak-gu, and Han Jae-yong, CEO of Misong Environmental Industry.

The district plans to establish a cooperative system to utilize unused forest biomass, which was previously treated as waste wood at a cost, as an eco-friendly renewable energy source, thereby creating a virtuous cycle of resources.

“Unused forest biomass” refers to waste wood that does not meet the standard size of lumber or is difficult to collect among by-products generated from forest management activities such as forest tending or roadside tree maintenance. Until now, it has been treated as waste through incineration or landfill.

Going forward, when the district collects waste wood generated locally at designated locations, the contracted company will collect it free of charge and produce wood chips, an eco-friendly fuel for power generation, to supply to various power plants.

This is expected to reduce timber waste disposal costs by about 60 million KRW annually and effectively reduce carbon emissions.

Additionally, as part of the timber waste resource recovery, the district will conduct large-scale maintenance of waste timber piled up throughout local forests.

Tree maintenance will be carried out in eight forest areas covering approximately 170 hectares within the district by June, with a budget of 500 million KRW invested by the district.

The plan is to create a safe forest environment by removing unnecessary trees such as piled timber and dead trees left unattended in the forest, which could exacerbate damage in case of floods or forest fires.

Park Il-ha, Mayor of Dongjak-gu, said, “This agreement is significant in establishing a virtuous cycle of resources, including budget savings, by recycling discarded waste resources into eco-friendly energy.” He added, “We will continue to implement various policies to proactively respond to the climate crisis and create a safe forest environment.”