Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Qinella]

So I was informed by my director today that he had to pay a fine because I'm not properly separating my garbage. Apparently, one of my neighbors examined my trash bag and reported me. That's lovely. I asked him how much the fine was, but he wouldn't tell me. When I got home, there was a sticker from the gov't on my door that contained the word "exorbitant" (can't remember the word, had to use dictionary), so I'm not sure.

My director tried to explain to me that I need to seperate cans, paper, boxes, plastic, glass, and food. My main concern is where the hell am I supposed to put all this garbage? He told me to put it on the veranda, but the veranda floods with water every time I use the washing machine. There's no way I'm going to create a disgusting, moldy, dripping mess to track through my apartment. Also, I have to go through my bedroom and out to the veranda every time I need to throw something away? That's absolute insanity.

I tried to explain these things to him, but he just smiled and nodded. In other words, he didn't understand me at all.

So is this normal? Do you all have six separate trash cans? How am I supposed to pull this off?

In the meantime, I'm going to glare suspiciously at my neighbors, and possibly bite my thumb at them.

Sneers,
Q~

[jajdude]

Just drag your trash bags a bit away from where you live. Dump them a few meters up the road.

[Qinella]

[jajdude]

Well, I do just carry it up the way a bit, after midnite. I'm not the only waygook around, though we are a bit scarce.. But I buy the "proper" local bags too. I don't know when pick up is, nor when drop off should be. I just like to carry it a bit up a road, and next day it is gone.


If you live in one of those big apt bldgs, then actually it is easier. They tend to have an open place for recyclables...

[pegpig]

[uberscheisse]

one thing i do to avoid the food garbage drippy mess is put all decomposables in a bag in my freezer until garbage day.

of course i don't use my freezer much. you might.

[Qinella]

[Hater Depot]

Different color bags are for different types of waste. I think different areas use different colors, so ask your boss.

[sheba]

Take your trash out right before you go to bed when everyone else is sleeping or relaxing... then they wont see you, and even if they do, who is going to trek down to the rubbish area at midnight and go through someones bag in the dark?

[Captain Corea]

[VanIslander]

It's always good to recycle what is good and throw away what is bad:

separate your garbage

don't "seperate"

(a pet peeve)

[mindmetoo]

I've got two bags hanging on my door, one for paper, one for cans/plastic. In typical Korean fashion, you just dump your recyclables waste in the hall, near the elevator. There's no actual blue box dumpster. No. That would make too much sense. Just a small army of ajummas they pay (or you pay via your monthly common fee) $10 a month to collect and separate this stuff.

But food waste. Ugg. There are these dumpster out back where you can dump the food waste but opening those things, especially in summer, is a PURE HORROR SHOW. God. God. Once was enough.

Yeah my food waste goes into my 5 cent government approved trash bags.

Sounds like your neighbor collected a whistle blower reward for ratting you out. If you were only tossing food waste into the normal trash, I sympathize with you. But if you were tossing paper and other easy to separate recyclables, well, come on.

[JongnoGuru]

The next big headline:

Foreigner Teachers Flouting Korea's Garbage Disposal Rules!

Apparently not content with falsifiying degrees, teaching privates and turning the Hongdae area into their own personal passion pit with their blond-haired, blue-eyed, 'come-hither' ways, reports are mounting that foreign English teachers working in Korea are willfully disobeying garbage-separation requirements. In some cases, these unruly individuals are feigning ignorance of the law and leaving their poor, innocent hagwon owners to pay their fines.

'I think it is unfair for Western teachers to violate Korea again and again', says one Mr. K, 23, netizen. 'It is a well-known fact that such undesirables have already corrupted the youths of Hongdae and were also instrumental in the exposure of certain Hongdae band members'...um, members'. Agrees one Choi, 21, coed, 'I think so, too. I was at a club near Picasso Street in Hongdae -- NOT a booking club... I want that on the record, got it? -- and I found myself nearly participating in a wet T-shirt contest, which is absolutely against my will and my upbringing. The only explanation is that I was a victim of mind-control by wicked foreign teachers who refuse to separate their garbage'.

A grass-roots organisation, Netizens Against Garbage non-separators (NAG), is currently drawing up plans for rallies, street marches and informational flyers explaining how residents can detect whether a particular bag of unseparated trash belongs to a foreigner. Meanwhile, student councils across the nation have issued a pan-national call to arms, enlisting the support of all patriotic forces to gather at Incheon's MacArthur Park below the statue of the war criminal in late August in preparation for...

[denverdeath]

Good advice from Captain Corea. It can be a bit of a pain at times, but they do have a pretty good recycling program here. My wife and I try to do our best, but I do not separate the food stuff - either flush it or put it in with the non-recyclable garbage. In my part of Boo-sahn this is the deal:

��(Sun)/ȭ(Tues)/��(Thurs): ��Ȱ������(non-recyclable garbage) Where we live, these bags are white and are the ones most easily found across the street at the store. We buy the smallest size(10L) so we can toss the bag at least once a week so there's no big issue with stench.

��(Mon): ���ľ�����, ��Ȱ��ǰ(��ö, ĵ, ����, �Ƿ�) - organic/food garbage, recyclables(metal products, cans, bottles, clothing/fabric)

��(Wed): ���ľ�����, ��Ȱ��ǰ(�ö�ƽ, ���̷�) - organic/food garbage, recyclables(plastic, paper)

��(Fri): ���ľ�����, ��Ȱ��ǰ(�ö�ƽ, ��Ƽ����) - organic/food garbage, recyclables(plastic, styrofoam)

I live in an older residential area with mainly homes, not apartments. The pick up times are between 9pm and 2am. The neighbours don't like it when I put the stuff out ealier than 9, but I do so sometimes if I'm going out for the evening as it's better than having the crap laying around for an extra two or so days.

We have a small area in the kitchen reserved for/designated as the garbage area, but I'm sure you could place the stuff under the sink instead to keep things looking neater. Usually I hate those black plastic bags they give at the corner stores, but the larger ones are great for separating the garbage. We put plastic in one bag, glass and cans in another, paper in a box, and the non-recyclable bag is in a regular garbage can. It ain't perfect, but it works well enough. If you keep on top of it, it can be quite easy and come as second nature soon enough.

Talk to your boss about what goes out when in your neighbourhood or building. The bags actually have all the info on them. I've also seen some neighbours who have their stuff organized outside their homes. Give it a try. I think it's better than dragging a big bag down the street and dumping it in the river, right?

[fidel]

Look you fillty swine, just what this stinkingly fetid, rancid country needs is some laxy ass foreign devils throwing their garbage willy nilly where ever they like. It's not that difficult, use you noggin. Recycling is here for a reason, and like it or not you should do your part.