New Waste Incineration Plant to be Constructed in Seoul's Sangam District.

The city of Seoul is planning to address its waste issue through the establishment of a new comprehensive resource recovery facility, also known as a waste incineration plant. To achieve this goal, the "Site Selection Committee" has chosen Sangam-dong as the final location for the incineration plant and officially announced its decision. As a result of this choice, a new incineration plant capable of processing an average of 1,000 tons of waste per day will be operational between the end of 2026 and will be located between Sangam-dong's World Cup Park and Sky Park.

 

Recently, Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited Denmark's waste-to-energy plant to explore the potential of such convenience facilities.

 

On the 24th of last month, during the 19th meeting of the "Metropolitan Area Resource Recovery Facility Site Selection Committee," two sites, including Sangam-dong 481-6, were selected as the final locations for the new incineration plant and officially declared as such. The existing incineration facility near Sangam-dong, which currently processes 750 tons of waste annually, is scheduled to cease operations by 2035. Once the new incineration plant is operational, it will be capable of processing an average of 1,750 tons of waste per year in the Sangam-dong area from 2026 onwards.

 

This decision was made in response to the prohibition of landfilling untreated household waste starting from January 1, 2026. Previously, Seoul's waste was processed at the landfill site on Nanjido, but since its closure, waste disposal has been handled at landfills in the greater metropolitan area.

 

Currently, Seoul operates incineration facilities in Yangcheon-gu, Nowon-gu, Gangnam-gu, and Mapo-gu. However, due to the aging of these facilities, the incineration capacity is insufficient to handle the daily waste generation. Consequently, without the capacity to process an additional 1,000 tons or more of waste, there's a predicted situation where landfilling waste will be impossible from 2026 onwards.

 

Considering this scenario, the city of Seoul established the Site Selection Committee last year to work on determining the plant's location. Despite several attempts to solicit proposals for incineration plant sites, the lack of support from local districts hindered the decision-making process. As a result, a pool of over 60,000 potential sites was initially selected, and then narrowed down to five candidates through site exclusions and evaluation criteria.

 

Throughout this process, Sangam-dong emerged as the final chosen location, but the decision was reached after undergoing environmental impact assessments and community engagement efforts due to opposition from residents of Mapo-gu. The city of Seoul conducted environmental evaluations, such as 'Calpuff Modeling,' to measure changes in air quality around the incineration plant site. Furthermore, the decision was made through legal procedures, taking into account the opposing opinions of residents.

 

While the final location has been decided, whether construction can be completed by December 31, 2026, remains uncertain. The establishment of the incineration plant requires preliminary feasibility studies by the Ministry of Planning and Finance, environmental impact assessments, and a suitability evaluation by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). The relevant departments are planning to conduct preliminary feasibility studies first, followed by environmental impact assessments. As of now, construction is projected to commence in early 2025.

 

Mapo-gu has consistently expressed opposition to this decision. As alternatives, they proposed installing facilities for pre-processing household waste, enforcing separate collection of food waste and recyclable waste in general waste bags, among other suggestions. In response, the city of Seoul acknowledges the advantages of pre-processing facilities but argues that there is a shortage of places to handle the resulting materials.

 

Additionally, Seoul plans to establish convenience facilities for residents alongside the incineration plant. Plans include the installation of observation decks and skywalks to create urban landmarks. This concept takes inspiration from the artificial hill and slopes seen at the 'Amager Bakke' waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

Recently, Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited Denmark's waste-to-energy plant to explore the potential of such convenience facilities. The intention is to address the waste issue while simultaneously transforming the city's waste management into a city attraction.