Yongsan-gu in Seoul has been named the top-performing district in the Seoul Metropolitan Government's second performance evaluation on household waste reduction and recycling, ranking first among all 25 autonomous districts and earning the designation of "most outstanding district."
As a result, the district secured 300 million won ($210,000) in performance incentive funding from the city.
The evaluation was introduced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government this year for the first time in response to the ban on direct landfilling of household waste at the metropolitan area landfill. It assessed all 25 districts across four categories: household waste reduction results, separate-discharge participation, citizen practice efforts and district-specific initiatives.
Yongsan-gu ranked first in both the waste reduction and separate-discharge participation categories. The district has worked with contracted waste collection and transport companies to open standard-volume garbage bags and conduct in-house sorting, boosting recyclable collection rates and contributing to overall waste reduction.
The district also ran an environmental education program for local elementary school students — titled "A Journey of Runaway Trash," a hands-on curriculum on the importance of resource circulation — 10 times in total, working to build environmental awareness among the next generation.
To help establish a culture of proper household waste separation, the district produced and distributed a resident-friendly "Household Waste Separation Guide at a Glance" in both Korean and English, designed as a refrigerator magnet for everyday use. The guide lets residents check correct sorting methods at a glance in their daily lives.
In the second half of the year, Yongsan-gu plans to continue rolling out programs to reduce household waste and promote resource recycling, including installing recycling collection bins along street sections and introducing unmanned collection machines for transparent PET bottles.
The 300 million won secured through this evaluation will go toward upgrading resource-circulation infrastructure — including replacing garbage trucks — and advancing household waste reduction programs to build a more efficient and stable recycling system.
"This recognition as the most outstanding district is a meaningful achievement made possible by the active participation of our residents, who joined us in reducing household waste and practicing proper waste separation," Yongsan-gu District Mayor Kim Gyeong-dae said. He added that the district would continue to expand resident-centered resource-circulation policies that people can easily practice in their daily lives, and would do its utmost to create a sustainable urban environment.
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