Korean Job Discussion Forums

[periwinkle]

First, the food waste: is it taken to some facility where it is composted? I'm imagining a giant greenhouse where the waste is spread out and then millions of worms eat it, and the worm poo is used as fertilizer (my friend had a composter at home, and that's how it worked...). But I know that's not the case, so I wonder where it goes...

General waste: I heard there are a couple of areas in Seoul that are landfill- some big hill near world cup stadium is a giant pile of trash covered over by grass. There are even pipes that reach into the decomposing trash which lets methane escape. But where is the trash taken now? At home we had a town dump where you could bring household appliances (you had to pay a fee, of course). Here, you just get a ticket from your local gov't office and they pick it up, but I just wonder where it goes....

[mikekim]

china by boat?

[periwinkle]

[Novernae]

Apparently the 'food waste' is fed to livestock and then incinerated. No composting, and many more restrictions then I've followed. Figured food waste would be composted and used like at home... But no, they're feeding it to the animals and blaming mad cow, etc, on the west

This information came from another thread here where someone posted this information...

[The evil penguin]

[The evil penguin]

[Hater Depot]

It's not an answer but this is interesting -- the US ships quite a few computer monitors to be recycled in South Korea.

[periwinkle]

Interesting stuff, evil penguin. I asked my husband about the food waste- He said it's fed to animals, especially pigs. Last night when I took out the food waste, I noticed someone had put fish bones in the container... That can't be good for the animals...

[casey's moon]

I went to throw some food waste in the bin a few weeks ago (standard stuff like carrot peels and the cores of bell pepppers, etc.) and noticed that someone had thrown out a bunch of hot dogs weiners. I literally gagged at the thought of pigs eating pigs and am more nervous than ever about consuming Korean meat products.

I just don't think the public has the knowledge or sense of responsiblity to be choosing what is fed to animals that are destined for human consumption.

Anyway I threw my food garbage in the other bin since I assumed (prayed) that the hot dog bin would end up being declared unfit for feed. I haven't really participated in the food garbage thing since that happened -- I'm too disgusted to think about it.

Honestly though -- does anyone know what happens? Do they test it to make sure it doesn't contain anything dangerous (i.e. pork) before they turn it into feed??????

[periwinkle]

God, I throw just about anything organic in the food waste- I didn't realize it was being fed to animals. Egg shells, fruit peels, rotten stuff (threw away a very black banana last week~), coffee grinds.... Trimmed fat from chicken... By the time it gets to the animals, it would be pretty rotten- you'd think they'd get sick.

[casey's moon]

[noelinkorea]

Here you go - I wondered myself, so I did a quick search at www.korea.net - the Korean government website (results posted below):

*edit: I bolded only the most relevant parts if you don't want to read through it all...

http://www.korea.net/Search/SearchAll.asp
http://www.korea.net/News/News/NewsView.asp?serial_no=20060906020

Household Waste

Waste management is one of the biggest challenges confronting Korea and other industrialized countries where mass consumption and production patterns prevail. The amount of total waste generated in Korea has been decreasing since 1993 as seen in Table. Household waste significantly dropped in the 1990s and daily waste volume per person, which stood at 1.3kg in 1994, dropped to 1.01kg in 2001. While the percentage of landfill drastically fell in the 1990s, the percentage of recycling and incineration went up. In 2001, the proportion of landfill and recycling of household waste was 43.3 percent and 43.1 percent, respectively, whereas in 1990, only 7.9 percent was recycled and overwhelming 89.2 percent landfilled.

The reduction in the total volume of waste can be attributed to the Volume-based Solid Waste Fee system introduced in 1995, which mandates each household to pay for the treatment cost in proportion to the amount of its own waste. This system has proven highly successful, reducing waste for landfill or incineration by 45 percent within six years of its implementation. It also resulted in a 115 percent increase in recycling, with total socio-economic benefits of US$4 billion.

Of the many varieties of household waste, packaging materials and food scraps pose issues for concern. Each year, roughly 5.6 million tons (1997 figure) of packaging materials are used during the distribution stage, amounting to 36.8 percent of total waste. In 1999, the government amended the Promotion of Resource Saving and Reutilization Act to reduce the use of packaging materials. In a relevant regulation, the use of PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) shrinkage films, which obstructs recycling and generates pollutants during incineration, have been banned from 2001.

Food waste comprises a slightly smaller proportion of household waste than wrapping materials, at 29.1 percent in 1996 and 23.2 percent or 11,237 tons per day in 2001. The government launched the Comprehensive Measures on Food Waste Reduction in 1996 to promote a more economical dining culture and maximize reutilization. The number of businesses obligated to reduce food waste increased from 578 in 1996 to more than 67,000 in 2002. In the mean time, the Ministry of Environment has been funding the construction of 83 food waste reutilization facilities (approximately US$35 million) since 1996. In 2001, 56.8 percent of total food waste was converted to fodder and fertilizers.

As of 2001, 242 household waste landfill sites are in operation in Korea, covering 28.26km2. The Sudogwon Landfill Site, a subsidiary corporation of the Ministry of Environment that serves the Seoul metropolitan region, is the largest in the world, with a surface area of 20.7km2 and receiving 20,000 tons of waste every day. Korea transformed Nanjido, which served as a repository for 92 million cubic meters of waste from the Seoul metropolitan area for 15 years since 1978, into an open ecological park. Covering 2,942,000 square meters, Nanjido is now a thriving home to diverse plant and insect species as well as a growing number of human visitors.

Industrial Waste

Unlike household wastes, which are disposed of under the supervision of local governments, the responsibility for industrial waste disposal falls largely to business owners. In the 1990s, the volume of industrial wastes, including sludge and refuse, went up by 10 percent annually, surpassing the volume for household wastes in 1993. Due to the high costs involved in waste treatment and strict governmental regulations, a growing number of industries are applying eco-efficient designs and technologies to cut down waste in the production process. To facilitate this, Korea introduced the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) system in 2000 on a voluntary basis, in which the producers of home appliances, fluorescent bulbs, glass and PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate) bottles, metal cans, tires, and lubricants agreed to treat their discarded products in an environmentally sound manner. EPR will be enforced by law starting January 2003, and the target products will include tetra packs, plastic packages, mobiles phones, etc. in addition to the above items.

For hazardous industrial waste, which requires especially meticulous management, the government operates four treatment facilities around the country. In 1994, Korea joined the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal to ensure the safety of their import and export. In accordance with the Basel Convention and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED), Korea inspects and regulates the import and export of 99 items, including waste oil and batteries.
Toxic Chemicals

Approximately 37,000 kinds of chemical substances are circulated in Korea, with 200 kinds of new chemical substances entering the market each year. The government introduced a string of preventive measures such as toxicity assessment in the Hazardous Chemicals Control Act in 1991. With the accession to OECD, Korea revised this Act to accommodate relevant international regulations and put in place an advanced form of chemicals management. The revised act administers the Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) to guarantee the quality and integrity of toxicity assessment data through laboratory inspections and data audits. The act also provides for the compilation of toxic chemicals data, including the volume of their transactions and emissions to air, water and soil.

New waste management system to be adopted

Date: September 07, 2006
The Ministry of the Environment plans to introduce a new waste management system, mechanical biological treatment (MBT), to the country from 2007.

The MBT is a mechanical system under which already separated garbage coming from households will undergo a second filtering to remove recyclable trash, while the remaining waste will be separated into that for incineration or biological processing.

Biological processing uses either aerobic or anaerobic microorganisms to chemically convert waste into environment-friendly material producing heat that can be used as an energy source.

The remaining waste, which cannot be processed or reused, will be burnt or sent to landfills. The heat from incineration could also be used as an energy source for electricity.

The MBT system is expected to use up less land; reduce air pollution as it reduces the amount of material requiring incineration; increase energy production chemical reactions and incineration; and cut down costs as building the system is cheaper than building incinerators, a ministry spokesman said.

MBT has already been adopted in other countries, including Germany, Spain and Italy, as a resource circulation policy.

�It will be environmentally friendly as at our current rate landfills will be used up in 11 years,� said Kim Tae-hee, deputy director of Korea Zero Waste Movement Network Introduction. She said the program could extend the use of current landfill tills 2030 or even longer.

The ministry will study selected spots before constructing the necessary facilities. Landfill locations such as Bucheon, Gangneung and Buan have been suggested as possible sites for specialized MBT buildings.