Kimchi waste: from Sunday through Dec. 31, residents may dispose of it in standard 20-liter pay-per-bag garbage bags with a dedicated sticker attached
Fallen-leaf waste: from Monday through Feb. 26 next year, free on-site collection available at high-volume sites
Gwangjin-gu will run a focused collection period for kimchi-making and fallen-leaf waste starting in November, aiming to make disposal easier for residents and keep the district clean as the kimchi-making season and winter approach.
The district will first operate a special kimchi-waste collection period from Sunday through Dec. 31. During this window, households may temporarily dispose of byproducts generated during kimchi-making — such as cabbage and radish scraps — in standard 20-liter pay-per-bag garbage bags.
Kimchi waste must be bagged separately in a standard 20-liter pay-per-bag garbage bag and must have a dedicated kimchi-waste sticker attached before being set out for collection. The stickers are available in the November issue of the district newsletter "Achasan Meari," in promotional materials, and as a download from the Gwangjin-gu district office website. Salted cabbage and kimchi with seasoning must still be disposed of in food-waste pay-per-bag bags as before, while items such as pepper stems, green-onion roots, onion skins and garlic skins must go into regular garbage bags. Residents who use RFID-based waste-disposal units may continue using them as usual.
The district said mixing kimchi waste with regular garbage, or placing kimchi in a standard garbage bag, may result in collection being refused or a fine being imposed, and urged residents to follow the correct disposal guidelines.
Alongside this, the district will run a fallen-leaf waste intensive collection and free-disposal period from Monday through Feb. 26 next year.
Environmental sanitation workers and road-sweeping vehicles will be deployed intensively to clear fallen leaves from major roads and sidewalks. Apartments, small multi-unit residential buildings, schools and other sites that generate large volumes of fallen leaves will also be eligible for temporary free collection.
Sites wishing to use the free collection service should place fallen leaves in clear plastic bags or burlap sacks and submit a request to the district office's sanitation division; a staff member will then visit to collect them. Bags containing materials other than leaves will not be accepted, so residents are asked to follow proper disposal guidelines. The district plans to recycle the collected leaves as eco-friendly fuel, reducing waste-disposal costs and contributing to resource circulation.
Gwangjin-gu District Mayor Kim Kyung-ho said the district would move quickly to handle the surge in kimchi and fallen-leaf waste during the winter months to minimize inconvenience for residents. "We will continue to pursue a range of policies to promote resource circulation, and we ask residents to join us by disposing of waste correctly," he said.
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