Lee Min-keun, the mayor of Ansan, emphasized on October 1 the importance of establishing a stable waste management system while reducing waste generation and creating a structure for resource reuse.
The mayor expressed this view during a field meeting held on September 30 at the resource recovery facility, attended by the vice mayor and key officials, where they focused on the direction of policies for household waste management and resource circulation.
Mayor Lee is actively inspecting waste management sites to assess resource circulation policies and accelerate the expansion of a stable waste management foundation.
The meeting was organized to directly verify the operational status of waste management facilities that are closely related to citizens' lives and to review issues related to waste reduction and the overall resource circulation process from recycling to disposal.
Key topics discussed included the current status of household waste generation and disposal, the expansion of resource recovery facilities, the enlargement of recycling sorting centers, and the establishment of dedicated storage for volume-based waste bags.
In particular, Mayor Lee noted that approximately 24,000 tons of recyclables are brought into the recycling sorting center each year, indicating an urgent need for facility expansion.
Currently, the recycling sorting center has a processing capacity of about 18,600 tons per year.
In response, the mayor plans to promote the expansion of the recycling sorting center and gradually increase the capacity of the resource recovery facility from the current 200 tons per day to 360 tons to enhance its processing capabilities.
As waste management conditions change, including a ban on direct landfill of household waste in the metropolitan area, the focus will not only be on simple waste disposal but also on reducing generation and expanding recycling through the establishment of a resource circulation system.
After the meeting, Mayor Lee and others toured the intermediate processing facility and recycling sorting center to observe the entire process of sorting and processing household waste and to check the operational status of the facilities.
The mayor envisions a systematic management of the entire process from waste generation to collection, disposal, and recycling through efforts to reduce household waste generation, promote a culture of proper waste separation, and expand citizen participation in resource circulation activities.
Citizens have expressed that "policies aimed at reducing waste are directly linked to their daily lives, and it would be beneficial to have an environment that facilitates easy waste separation along with concrete reduction measures."
Meanwhile, Mayor Lee Min-keun added, "We will gradually expand necessary facilities such as resource recovery facilities and recycling sorting centers, while promoting citizen engagement and institutional improvements to create a sustainable resource circulation city."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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