[The Hwankyung Ilbo] The Ministry of Environment plans to take care of 40 percent of illegally dumped waste within this year and complete the disposal of all illegal waste by 2022.

The government will strengthen public management to prevent the accumulation of waste by increasing recycling demand and waste incineration, to manage and supervise the entire process of waste and to prevent illegal activities.

The government has come up with comprehensive measures to deal with illegal waste, but environmental organizations say they are disappointed.

“The Ministry of Environment should admit that the waste management and recycling policies are not enough to solve the problem of recycling plastic wastes,” Greenpeace said. “A comprehensive regulation on the use of disposable plastic products and packaging materials is needed to fundamentally solve the problem.”

It also urged the government to investigate the amount of disposable plastic used in packaging products and to develop a holistic and effective policy and implementation plan, including consumption reduction targets, roadmaps, and producer responsibility.

Although the Ministry of Environment said it would strengthen the responsibility of local governments, it is doubtful whether it will be possible in reality.

A local government official in Gyeonggi Province said, “It is impossible in reality that two to three officials in charge of environmental affairs should monitor thousands of waste disposal companies in the province.”

If it is difficult to crack down on illegal waste with human resources, it should be filtered by the system, but this is also difficult. There is a waste disposal system operated by the Korea Environment Corporation under the Ministry of Environment. However, it is hard to confirm the illegal handling of the waste because the licensing information, recycling and processing performance are not linked.

Some point out that the government should revise the Wastes Control Act, which has maintained an outdated system since the revision in 1999, to establish a system for waste disposal that is compatible with reality.

To prevent illegal waste, it is necessary to reduce the generation of waste and to monitor the inevitable generation of waste. However, it remains to be seen how effective the waste measures can be, without measures to reduce waste, and without manpower and resources for monitoring crackdowns and inspections.

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