Ban on Direct Landfill of Municipal Solid Waste... Incheon Ensures Stable Processing Through Both Public and Private Incineration

On January 12, Incheon City announced that, with the ban on direct landfill of municipal solid waste at the Seoul Metropolitan Landfill taking effect this month, the city is now processing municipal solid waste stably through both public and private incineration facilities.

From January 1 to 8, the total amount of municipal solid waste designated for incineration in Incheon was 7,429 tons, of which 6,568 tons (89%) were processed at public incineration facilities and 861 tons (11%) at private incineration facilities.

Until last year, an average of 870 tons of municipal solid waste per day generated in Incheon was mostly incinerated at the public incineration facilities in Songdo and Cheongna, with only about 190 tons directly landfilled at the Seoul Metropolitan Landfill.

However, starting this year, due to the prohibition of direct landfill, municipal solid waste can no longer be buried directly, and only incineration residues are allowed to be landfilled. As a result, Incheon's local governments are now utilizing both public and private incineration methods in parallel.

Currently, Jung-gu, Gyeyang-gu, and Seo-gu have completed contracts with private companies for municipal solid waste processing, while Ganghwa-gun and Bupyeong-gu are preparing to finalize their contracts. Dong-gu, Michuhol-gu, Yeonsu-gu, and Namdong-gu plan to complete contracts with private companies by March, before the scheduled major maintenance of public incineration facilities, as public incineration is sufficient for their normal operations.

Since the ban on direct landfill of municipal solid waste in the Seoul metropolitan area was implemented this year, the Seoul Metropolitan Landfill in Seo-gu, Incheon is quiet. Photo by Yonhap News

The Climate, Energy, and Environment Bureau, Incheon City, district and county governments, and the Incheon Environmental Corporation are operating an emergency response team to ensure smooth processing of municipal solid waste. The city is also preparing for contingencies by inspecting private processing facilities together with the district and county governments.

In the event of an emergency, the city plans to maximize the reserve capacity of public incineration facility storage tanks, implement cross-delivery between the Songdo and Cheongna public incineration facilities, and increase the number of operating days at public incineration facilities as countermeasures.

An official from Incheon City stated, "We will ensure that municipal solid waste is processed reliably, and we will continue to reduce the amount of exceptional direct landfill of municipal solid waste with the goal of achieving zero landfill."