On the morning of December 29, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced that Minister Kim Seonghwan visited a municipal solid waste storage facility located in Danwon-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, to inspect the preparations for the implementation of the direct landfill ban on municipal solid waste, which will take effect from January 1 next year.
Ansan City expects to generate approximately 90,000 tons of municipal solid waste next year. Of this, 60,000 tons will be processed using public incineration facilities, and the city plans to expand additional incineration capacity by 2029 to handle the remaining 30,000 tons.
Until the expansion of these facilities is completed, the city is preparing short-term alternatives such as outsourcing to private operators. The ministry explained that, even if there are delays in the contracting process, temporary storage facilities and other measures are being prepared to prevent municipal solid waste from accumulating in residential areas.
According to the ministry's inspection of the readiness of 66 municipal governments in the three metropolitan areas for the implementation of the direct landfill ban, 33 municipalities are deemed capable of complying with the new system by utilizing existing public incineration facilities and other measures.
Among these, 14 municipalities had already stopped sending municipal solid waste to the Sudokwon Landfill Site by the end of this year and are already implementing the direct landfill ban ahead of the official enforcement date. The remaining 33 municipalities lack sufficient public incineration capacity and will need to rely on private outsourcing under normal circumstances. Of these, 25 have already completed contracts or are scheduled to do so by the end of this year.
Eight municipalities plan to complete contracts in January due to administrative delays. They will implement short-term measures such as utilizing additional private outsourcing contracts and temporary storage facilities to ensure smooth waste processing.
Minister Kim stated, "The implementation of the direct landfill ban on municipal solid waste will serve as a major turning point in resource circulation policy, on par with the introduction of pay-as-you-throw garbage bags in 1995." He added, "To prevent confusion such as delays in waste collection at the initial stage of the policy, each municipality should recognize the current situation as a disaster-level event and prepare multiple contingency plans tailored to local conditions."
He also said, "The government will strengthen policies to reduce municipal solid waste, such as reducing single-use items and improving separate collection, and will promptly prepare measures to expand financial support and shorten project periods so that municipalities can quickly establish the necessary public incineration and recycling facilities."
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