Greater Seoul's household waste travels as far as Gyeongju as out-of-region dumping spreads

A ban on direct landfilling of household waste from the Greater Seoul area that took effect this year has triggered a serious wave of out-of-region waste transfers, with trash generated in the capital area being shipped to provinces across the country for disposal.

Data on the handling of Greater Seoul household waste in the first half of 2026, obtained by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Ji-hye of the National Assembly's climate, energy, environment and labor committee from the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, show that of the 1.487 million tons of household waste generated in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon between Jan. 1 and June 30, about 57,000 tons — roughly 4 percent — were shipped out of the Greater Seoul area for disposal elsewhere.

North Chungcheong Province received the largest share, taking in 27,600 tons, or 48.4 percent of the total transferred. South Chungcheong Province followed with 11,200 tons, or 19.6 percent, meaning the Chungcheong region absorbed about 68 percent of all out-of-region waste.

Daejeon received 6,400 tons (11.2 percent), followed by North Gyeongsang Province at 5,800 tons (10.2 percent), North Jeolla Province at 2,800 tons (5 percent), Sejong at 2,100 tons (3.7 percent) and Gangwon Province at 1,100 tons (1.9 percent).

The transfers are spreading well beyond the neighboring Chungcheong region. In one example, 1,800 tons of household waste from Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, were transported all the way to Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province for processing — illustrating a pattern of long-distance waste shipments reaching across the country.

"The direct-landfill ban was introduced to encourage waste reduction and the expansion of local processing infrastructure, but in practice it has produced a balloon effect — costs and regulations are being sidestepped by offloading trash onto private operators in the provinces," Park said.

Park added that if the principle of processing waste where it is generated is undermined, residents outside the Greater Seoul area will bear a double burden — both environmental and social. She said she would use the upcoming national audit to examine the progress of expanding in-region waste processing facilities in Greater Seoul and press for effective measures to prevent inter-municipal long-distance waste transfers.