Residents protest Seoul’s new waste incinerator site

Soil pollution investigative agency officials take a sample of soil at the proposed site of a new waste incineration plant in Mapo-gu, western Seoul on Aug. 28. (Yonhap)

With the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s final decision on Sangam-dong in western Seoul as the site of a new waste incineration plant, protests have been sparked among nearby residents for the second time since the city government’s initial announcement in August 2022.

According to Yonhap News Agency, residents of Sangam-dong have been requesting the city government to release the full minutes of the meeting held regarding the decision to build the plant in the area since April. The city government has argued that Sangam-dong was the strongest of the candidate sites in Seoul after conducting a comprehensive environmental assessment, without specifying the other sites that were considered.

In the city government’s most recent announcement Thursday, the capital revealed that the other sites in consideration were Ogok-dong 1 and 2 in Gangseo-gu, Godeok-dong in Gangdong-gu and Yeomgok-dong in Seocho-gu.

Sangam-dong was chosen after a comprehensive environmental assessment using the Calpuff modeling system gave the area the highest ranking among the candidates. The Calpuff modeling system conducts a simulation of the environmental impact that could be caused due to air pollutants in the atmosphere.

Sangam-dong residents have additionally demanded the Seoul Metropolitan Government release more information, saying the information that has been released thus far is insufficient, specifically in regard to how the decision was made step by step and who was involved in making the final decision.

“If we receive another request for information disclosure, we will only disclose as much information as possible then,” said a Seoul Metropolitan Government official.

Sangam-dong already has one waste incineration plant, known as the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility. According to the city government, the new incinerator will be built underground at a 21,000-square-meter lot by 2026, next to the existing one. The current incinerator is to be demolished by 2035 and replaced with a park.

The site for a new waste incineration plant in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, is outlined in red. (Seoul Metropolitan Government)