Seoul Area Candidates Agree on Waste Origin Treatment, Differ on Incinerator Expansion

As South Korea moves towards a nationwide ban on landfilling municipal waste by 2030, candidates for leadership in the Seoul metropolitan area are grappling with the contentious issue of expanding public incineration facilities. While there is broad consensus on the principle of "treatment at the place of origin", meaning waste should be processed where it is generated, significant divisions emerge regarding the construction of new public incinerators.

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Waste generated in Seoul must be the responsibility of Seoul.

Most candidates surveyed by Hankyoreh expressed agreement with the 'place of origin' principle. However, Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party emphasized modernizing existing waste-to-energy plants rather than building new ones, citing ongoing resident opposition to new facilities, particularly after a failed project in Mapo. Oh's administration plans to enhance efficiency in current facilities, though it remains unclear if this alone can meet Seoul's waste processing needs, which currently exceed the capacity of its six public incinerators.

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It is not always the answer to build more public incineration facilities, as waste volume is decreasing.

Conversely, Democratic Party candidates generally acknowledge the need for new facilities but prioritize waste reduction policies and social consensus. Park Chan-dae, a Democratic candidate for Incheon mayor, suggested that building more incinerators isn't the sole solution, proposing the use of private facilities if necessary. Choo Mi-ae, running for Gyeonggi governor, advocated for a resource circulation approach rather than solely relying on incineration, stressing the need for caution due to the direct impact on residents' lives.

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We need to move away from the approach that incineration is the answer and instead focus on resource circulation.

Candidates from the People Power Party, such as Incheon mayoral candidate Yoo Jeong-bok and Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja, expressed a stronger push for new and expanded public incineration facilities, deeming them unavoidable given the impending landfill ban. Yang, in particular, made expanding public incinerators a top priority, proposing innovative location selection models. Despite these differing approaches, all candidates agreed that expanding incineration alone is insufficient, pledging to pursue advanced recycling, waste reduction, and resource recovery initiatives. However, critics point out the lack of concrete reduction targets and implementation plans, leaving room for administrative discretion.

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We will firmly pursue the construction of new public incineration facilities in Incheon and the modernization of existing ones.