South Korean metropolitan waste diverted to non-metropolitan regions

Following the implementation of a ban on the direct landfilling of household waste in the Seoul metropolitan area this year, a significant trend of ‘off-site disposal’ has emerged. Data released by Representative Park Ji-hye of the Climate, Energy, Environment, and Labor Committee shows that between January 1 and June 30, approximately 57,000 tons of the 1.48 million tons of waste generated in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon were transported to non-metropolitan regions.

About 68% of this waste was concentrated in the Chungcheong region, with North Chungcheong receiving 27,600 tons and South Chungcheong receiving 11,200 tons. Other recipient areas included Daejeon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Jeonbuk, Sejong, and Gangwon. Notably, some waste traveled long distances, such as 1,800 tons from Siheung, Gyeonggi, being sent to Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do.

Representative Park criticized this phenomenon as a ‘balloon effect,’ where waste is shifted to private companies in rural areas to avoid costs and regulations. She warned that this undermines the principle of treating waste at its source and places an unfair environmental and social burden on residents outside the metropolitan area, calling for effective measures to prevent such long-distance waste transfers.