Fourth Case After Haenam, Gwacheon, and Gyeongju
Implementation Begins in January Next Year... Proper Waste Separation Culture Spreads Nationwide
Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Shin Sangjin) announced on November 4 that it has decided to provide its volume-based waste bag design rights free of charge at the request of Gwangjin District in Seoul.
Types of volume-based waste bags in Seongnam City (for incineration, food waste, reuse, public use). Provided by Seongnam City
This marks the fourth time Seongnam City has provided its waste bag design rights to another local government upon request, following Haenam County in South Jeolla Province (August 2023), Gwacheon City in Gyeonggi Province (November 2024), and Gyeongju City in North Gyeongsang Province (December 2024).
The designs provided are those used for three types of volume-based waste bags-incineration, food waste, and reuse-for which Seongnam City holds the design rights under a patent granted on February 18, 2022.
These features include quantified CO₂ emissions by bag size, pictograms visualizing prohibited items, handle shapes, and bilingual labeling in English and Chinese.
The city recently reviewed Gwangjin District’s request for a non-exclusive license to use the waste bag designs and decided to grant it free of charge.
As a result, starting January 1 of next year, Gwangjin District will be able to produce and sell volume-based waste bags incorporating these designs.
Seongnam City has been selling bags with the new design since May 2022, marking the first change in 27 years since the implementation of the volume-based waste system in 1995.
To raise public awareness of greenhouse gas reduction, Seongnam City became the first in the country to indicate CO₂ emissions by bag size.
For example, a 20-liter waste bag represents 5.26 kilograms of CO₂ emissions, and reducing 20 liters of waste is equivalent to planting five pine trees-a message conveyed through pictograms included in the design.
Other features include pictograms visualizing prohibited items and a handle-type design, making it easier for citizens to dispose of their waste.
The Seongnam City waste bag design has received multiple awards, including the top national prize at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s “Government Innovation Best Practices Contest” in November 2023, and an excellence award at the “Outstanding Administration and Policy Case Selection Contest” organized by the Korea Public Policy Evaluation Association in July 2024.
A city official stated, “Requests from other local governments to use Seongnam City’s waste bag design rights are spreading nationwide,” adding, “This will also help promote a proper waste separation culture and raise environmental awareness.”
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