[Anchor]
An amount eight times greater than Gangwon Province's total waste incineration volume is being burned within the province. However, because it is classified as "recycling" rather than waste, the waste generators bear no burden, leaving only the residents of Gangwon Province to suffer the consequences.
G1 Broadcasting reporter Kim Do-hwan has the report.
[Reporter]
In 2024, the volume of waste incinerated in Gangwon Province stood at 250,000 tons.
Over eight times that amount—2.12 million tons of waste—is brought in from outside and burned as fuel at five cement plants within the province, yet it does not show up in incineration statistics.
This is because the Wastes Control Act classifies waste fed into cement kilns as recycling rather than incineration.
When waste is landfilled or incinerated, the generator must pay a disposal charge of 10,000 won per ton, which is used to support local residents and clean up the environment. However, if it is classified as recycling, none of these fees apply.
Representative Lee Chul-gyu of the People Power Party pointed out this loophole in the system during a parliamentary audit.
He questioned whether it makes any sense that the exact same garbage is considered waste when burned in an incinerator, but recycling when burned in a cement plant.
[Lee Chul-gyu / Member, National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee (People Power Party): It's recycling in name only... Recycling means reprocessing the components of waste, and calling incineration recycling is a trick that tries to hide the sun with the palm of one's hand.]
Representative Lee stated that 74% of the combustible waste burned across all cement plants in South Korea flows into Gangwon Province, causing pollution.
While there are 31 business sites equipped with automatic smokestack monitoring devices in Gangwon Province, ranking around 10th nationwide, the air pollutants emitted amount to 30,591 tons, ranking 3rd nationwide, with the average emission per business site ranking an overwhelming 1st nationwide.
[Lee Chul-gyu / Member, National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee (People Power Party): Waste generated outside is all coming to Gangwon Province and polluting Gangwon's air. If the incineration is to continue, the system must be improved so that disposition charges are paid to devise compensation measures for the local residents who are suffering damage.]
The Ministry of Environment responded that it would consider revising the recycling classification system, and Representative Lee also called for measures to filter out incinerated waste that can emit hazardous substances such as dioxins.
(Video taken by Shim Deok-heon / G1 Broadcasting)
Kim Do-hwan, G1
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