Gwangmyeong's Resource Circulation Policy Selected as Excellent Case at Manifesto Competition

Specialized Sorting of Large Waste and Free Collection of Discarded Electronics Highly Praised
Mayor Park Seungwon: "We Will Expand Circular Economy Policies for a Sustainable Future"

On July 28, the city of Gwangmyeong in Gyeonggi Province announced that it had received the Excellence Award in the climate, environment, and ecology category at the "2025 Manifesto Best Practices Competition," jointly hosted by the Korea Manifesto Implementation Headquarters and the Gyeongbuk Research Institute.

Seungwon Park, mayor of Gwangmyeong (sixth from the left), is celebrating the award of excellence at the Manifesto Best Practice Competition with employees. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

At this competition, the city presented its resource circulation policy under the theme "Establishing a Circular Economy System by Improving Municipal Waste Management Structure," earning the Excellence Award. Previously, the city had also received Excellence Awards in the climate and environment category (carbon neutrality policy) in 2023 and in the economic inequality mitigation category (Lifelong Learning Support Fund for Citizens Aged 50) in 2024.

During the competition, the city introduced several initiatives: increasing the recycling rate and creating a revenue structure through a specialized sorting project for large waste; achieving total resource recovery through free home collection of discarded electronics; converting coffee grounds from coffee shops into biofuel; and recycling residuals such as waste synthetic resins and converting them into renewable energy.

The city was highly evaluated for moving beyond the traditional waste disposal approach and establishing a structure that enables 100% resource recovery of even sorted residuals, thereby realizing a zero-waste circular economy model. The city added that the effectiveness of its carbon neutrality policy was further enhanced by Gwangmyeong-style citizen participation programs, such as the "1.5°C Climate Volunteers," in which citizens participate voluntarily. This also contributed to the award.

Park Seungwon, Mayor of Gwangmyeong, stated, "This award will serve as a driving force for us to take another step forward as a 'circular economy city.' We will continue to actively expand circular economy policies for a sustainable future."

A total of 401 policies were submitted by local governments nationwide for this competition, with 191 cases advancing to the finals. In the finals, after on-site presentations, award-winning cases were selected in seven categories: economy and regional industry, inequality mitigation, response to demographic changes, safety and disaster management, climate/environment/ecology, social capital, and community strengthening.