Gwanak-gu Wins Top Award in Seoul City Recycling Performance Evaluation

Received Gwanak-gu's Grand Prize in the '2024 Seoul Recycling Performance Evaluation' on the 1st
Recognized for efforts in reducing household waste and building infrastructure through various resource circulation projects, including the nation's first smart waste cooking oil collection bin and distribution of dedicated recycling bags

Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Jun-hee) was recognized for its outstanding achievements in the field of resource circulation by receiving the Grand Prize in the ‘2024 Seoul Metropolitan Government Recycling Performance Evaluation’ held on the 1st.

The ‘Seoul Metropolitan Government Recycling Performance Evaluation’ was conducted for the first time this year. Hosted by the Korea Recycling Resource Distribution Support Center (KORA), the award recognizes institutions across all districts of Seoul that have made significant contributions to reducing household waste and promoting resource circulation.

This award is the result of the district’s various policy initiatives to reduce household waste and activate recycling, as well as the successful implementation of resident-led programs.

The district was highly evaluated externally for introducing diverse and innovative resource circulation systems and significantly strengthening the local resource circulation infrastructure.

After the first round of document evaluation, the final winner was decided through a second round of on-site evaluation of the top three institutions. Gwanak-gu achieved excellent results in most categories, including ▲reducing volume-based waste ▲strengthening separate collection of transparent PET bottles and waste vinyl ▲expanding coffee grounds recycling.

First, the district became the first local government nationwide to introduce smart collection bins for waste cooking oil, creating an environment where residents can easily dispose of waste cooking oil.

Additionally, in 2021, Gwanak-gu was the first in Seoul to produce and distribute dedicated recycling bags to residents, and by expanding this initiative to all neighborhoods in 2023, it fostered a culture of separate waste collection and improved the reduction of household waste and recycling sorting rates within the community.

Furthermore, the district formed a ‘Resource Circulation Club’ consisting of about 250 local residents to establish a resident-led culture of separate waste collection. Every Thursday, the district operates a ‘Transparent PET Bottle Reward System’ to stabilize the day-based waste disposal system.

Moreover, the number of cafes participating in coffee grounds separate collection increased from 100 locations in 2023 to 416 locations in 2024, with over 70% of all cafes in the district actively participating, producing remarkable results in various projects.

Building on this award, the district plans to continuously maintain and develop the achievements of existing recycling projects while striving to discover new resource circulation initiatives, leading efforts to create a sustainable and clean living environment together with residents.

District Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “I am very pleased with the continuous achievements, following the selection as an excellent local government for free home collection of waste home appliances in 2023 and this recent award. These results were made possible by the active participation of our residents, allowing us to continuously maintain and expand resource circulation policies. We will continue to promote various policies for environmental protection and resource recycling.”