The 'garbage incineration plant conflict' between Seoul and Mapo District has entered its second round. Both sides have been engaged in legal battles over the establishment of a new incineration plant in Sangam-dong, Mapo District. This time, a new clash has arisen over the usage of the existing incineration plant in Sangam-dong.
The existing incineration plant, which has been in operation for 20 years, is jointly used by Mapo District, Jongno District, Jung District, Yongsan District, and Seodaemun District. As the joint usage agreement period is approaching its end, the city of Seoul is pushing for a revision of the agreement to allow the five autonomous districts to continue using it, but Mapo District has strongly opposed this and has withdrawn.
However, Mapo District is not trying to prevent the use of the incineration plant, so a 'garbage crisis' is not expected. The points of conflict between the city of Seoul and Mapo District have been clarified.
◇Point 1│The joint usage agreement revision: 'It can be negotiated' vs 'It must be agreed'
The city of Seoul operates a total of four incineration plants in addition to the one in Sangam-dong, namely in Ilwon-dong Gangnam, Sangye-dong Nowon, and Mokdong Yangcheon. Autonomous districts without incineration plants enter into joint usage agreements to process waste at the nearest incineration plant.
The issue arose as the city of Seoul pushed for a change to the joint usage agreement for the Mapo incineration plant. This facility opened in June 2005, and the validity period of the agreement was 20 years. Since June of this year, the city has been promoting a revision of the agreement with the five autonomous districts to ensure the incineration plant can continue to operate.
However, Mapo District opposed this and withdrew. Only the city of Seoul, Jongno District, Jung District, Yongsan District, and Seodaemun District signed a new agreement on the 16th of last month, extending the validity period of the agreement to 'until the facility is closed.'
In response, Mapo District claimed, 'It was pushed unilaterally, excluding the will of the Mapo residents.' However, the city of Seoul rebutted that the 'Waste Management Ordinance' stipulates that joint usage should be negotiated, so it does not mean that all autonomous districts must agree.
◇Point 2│The validity period of the joint usage agreement revision: 'until closure' vs '1 year'
Mapo District opposed the revision of the joint usage agreement and suggested a 'resource circulation plan' to the city of Seoul. One of the proposals is to set the agreement's validity period to 1 year. This is in direct contrast to the city's insistence on 'until closure.'
In this context, the city of Seoul stated that among the four incineration plants, the facilities in Gangnam, Nowon, and Yangcheon had the joint usage agreement's validity period set to 'until closure' from the beginning. A city official noted, 'I cannot exactly know why the period was set to 20 years when the joint usage agreement for the Mapo incineration plant was first established in 1997, as I cannot find the documents.'
◇Point 3│Composition of the incineration plant operation committee: 'majority from Mapo District' vs 'not present in other facilities'
Mapo District proposed to the city of Seoul that the operation committee for the Mapo incineration plant be composed of a majority from Mapo District officials and members of the Mapo Residents Support Council.
In response, a city official explained that 'there is no operation committee for the resource recovery facilities in Gangnam, Nowon, and Yangcheon.' Due to past damages suffered by Mapo residents because of the Nanji landfill site, an operation committee was created to listen to the opinions of Mapo District residents, which does not exist in other areas.
◇Point 4│The development fund paid by other autonomous districts: 'only Mapo District's office benefits' vs 'take it away'
Jongno District, Jung District, Yongsan District, and Seodaemun District, which send waste to the Mapo incineration plant, are providing development funds to Mapo District. The waste disposal fee for the incineration plant is approximately 110,000 won per ton, of which 80% is paid to the city that operates the facility, and 20% is paid to Mapo District where the facility is located.
In addition, the four autonomous districts have provided a total of 20.2 billion won to Mapo District since they started using the incineration plant. This includes 6.7 billion won from Jung District, 4.8 billion won from Yongsan District, 4.5 billion won from Jongno District, and 4.2 billion won from Seodaemun District.
In light of reports mentioning this, Mapo District stated, 'If 20 billion won is that important, we will return that money, so move the incineration plant to another region,' adding, 'the residents' right to health cannot be a right that is traded for money.'
However, Mapo District is the only one among the autonomous districts that receives development funds. There are large apartment complexes right next to the incineration plants in Ilwon-dong Gangnam, Sangye-dong Nowon, and Mokdong Yangcheon. Residents living within 300 meters of the incineration's influence area receive heating cost support from the development funds paid by other autonomous districts, but Mapo District receives the development funds because no residents live within its influence area.
◇Point 5│The amount of waste reduction: 'waste in Mapo District is increasing' 'the city of Seoul is distorting the data'
As Mapo District opposes the revision of the joint usage agreement, it proposed a 'resource circulation plan' to the city of Seoul, which includes policies for a 10% reduction in waste incineration in Seoul over the next five years and an increase in the cost of volume-based waste bags. It asserted, 'The city of Seoul is ignoring these measures, citing the increase in single-person households and the spread of delivery culture, and is unilaterally pushing for the construction of a new incineration plant in Mapo District.'
In response, the city of Seoul stated, 'Mapo District's waste reduction and recycling performance are lower than the average in Seoul.' The city explained that while the total municipal waste generation in Seoul decreased by 1.7% last year compared to 2023, it increased by 8.5% in Mapo District.
Mapo District rebutted that the data was distorted. In the data on the volume of household waste brought into the Mapo District incineration plant disclosed by the city of Seoul, there were 6,400 tons of waste that could not be brought into the incineration plant added last year compared to 2023, and it asserted that the actual volume of household waste brought in decreased by 4.0%. In response, the city of Seoul stated, 'The numbers in the data were not created by the city but were submitted by Mapo District.' An official from Mapo District explained that the method suggested by the city for compilation differed between 2023 and last year.
◇The city of Seoul and Mapo District continue to send waste to the incineration plant regardless of the agreement
If the joint usage agreement for the Mapo incineration plant had not been revised, citizens in the northwestern part of Seoul would have faced inconvenience as the waste they disposed of since June would not be cleared in a timely manner. The city of Seoul stated, 'If Mapo District prevents the entry of waste from the four autonomous districts with its power, an unfair annual expense of 18.9 billion won could arise.'
However, waste from the five autonomous districts, including Mapo District, is still being incinerated without issue. A city official stated, 'Waste from not only the four autonomous districts participating in the revision of the agreement but also Mapo District is brought into the incineration plant,' adding, 'Mapo District also requests to send waste.' An official from Mapo District noted, 'We consider the revised agreement invalid,' yet mentioned that they continue to send waste to the incineration plant regardless of the agreement.
This is because, although Mapo District opposes the revision of the joint usage agreement, there are no suitable alternatives. A city official explained, 'If we do not use the incineration plant, we need to stack the waste and then contract with a private company for disposal, which takes time.' Mapo District has proposed that the city establish waste treatment facilities for each autonomous district.