Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Adventurer]

In Europe or North America, you would easily find trash bins to put things in the trash. I don't see that in Korea. I am guessing maybe some Koreans were using it to dump their regular trash. I can't think of any other explanation for the bins not being around. It almost makes you feel you have an excuse to litter, not that I would.

[Captain Corea]

There were more (slightly) before sept. 11th.

[butlerian]

The lack of bins here drives me mad. I guess we're compensated for it by lower taxes...

[chris_J2]

After the New Years Eve bombings in Bangkok, everyone complained about the absence of trash bins. But agreed, the waste disposal here in Korea leaves a lot to be desired.

[sojourner1]

I hear you, it's inconvenient as I often end up throwing garbage and things into a single small black shopping bag near my sink and then setting it on the side of a road. (illegal) No trash bins, dumpsters, or waste cans, except bus stops have tiny overflowing trash cans. It's a mess. I clearly understand why people are shoving trash into every nook and cranny that is convenient, but it seems to get picked up regularly.

The only real trash service is by buying and using those dinky tiny small blue and yellow bags which I do use half of the time, but still not fully in the habit (still working on it) as I mentioned above. Blue bags for wrappers, styrofoam, and other things that do fit the criteria as being bottles, cardboard, paper, or garbage. And the yellow bags are solely for yucky garbage stuff like bones and old leftovers.

At least you can put your empty bottles in a large shopping bag and put paper and cardboard in a bag or bundling it and then setting this out on the side of the road free of charge. I am guessing you do not have to pay for bottle and paper pickup since they have small financial value that old people with rickshas collect to cash in. Similiar to aluminun can collecting at home.

[spliff]

Because nobody cares!

[eamo]

KBS, or maybe it was MBC, did a report on this one night last week. Apparently, believe it or not, smoking by a bus stop will become illegal soon!!! This is because of complaints by citizens of too many butts at bus stops.

So, the intrepid reporter did a few experiments around Seoul to see how far he would have to walk to throw a piece of trash into an approved receptacle. After some funny Benny Hill-style speeded-up walking he concluded that there just aren't enough trash cans around and that maybe the Seoul Council could provide a few more rather than complain about people discarding rubbish.

Good work KBS! (or was it MBC?).

[Richard Krainium]

When I first arrived in Seoul, you could find public trash bins. Then they started disappearing. I asked a Korean friend about this and he said the Seoul city gov't solution to unsightly trash was to remove the bins. No bins=no unsightly trash. Just within the past couple of years have bins been replaced as some bus stops.

[Hater Depot]

I hiked up Hallasan with my girlfriend today and we saw a sign reminding people that since the mountain has no trash cans, please take everything back down with you. The guy who sells ramen gives everyone a bag for the purpose. How many do? Almost none. Most people drop it off by the ramen shop, others leave it at whatever random spot they picnic at. I carried down three bags just of litter I found on the way.

It reminds me of the joke about how many Republican economists does it take to screw in a light bulb -- none, the darkness will take care of itself.

[own_king]

I was told that there are very few public trash cans in Korea, because garbage bags here are quite expensive, so throwing something away for free is like stealing.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[Hollywoodaction]

[just because]

People were not buying the garbage bags that you were supposed to put all the garbage in and instead to save that little bit of money would just cram all their rubbish into bins around the place...

The problem with this was there was rubbish everywhere in the parks and at bus stops so the solution was to take out most of the garbage cans.

This did work as there is a lot less rubbish around parks and on streets than when i first came to korea.....
I can understand the frustration but there was actually some good logic to this madness..

[Cheonmunka]

It's a great idea but I really don't like the food trash bins. I've got one outside my gate and it's overflowing. Great place for breeding maggots and mosquitos.

[Young FRANKenstein]