Hello. This is Yongin Special City Mayor Lee Sang-il. I will respond to the matter titled "We oppose building a new garbage incinerator in Duksung-ri, Cheoin-gu."
On the Yongin City Hall petition board on the 2024, an unusually direct reply was posted by Mayor Lee Sang-il to a petition titled "Oppose the incinerator in Duksung-ri." A lengthy explanation followed on the need for building the incinerator, the legal basis, overseas examples, whether eco-friendly technology would be applied, and plans to support residents. The fact that the mayor personally wrote a response to a petition typically handled by a working-level department reflected awareness of how sensitive the matter was.
In fact, Yongin's push for an incinerator did not go smoothly. A plan during the 7th popularly elected administration to install a resource recovery facility in Giheung-gu fell through due to resident backlash.
This time was different. Yongin selected a site for the resource recovery facility tentatively named "Yongin Green Eco Park," which can handle 500 tons (t) of household waste a day, with relatively little conflict and began full-fledged construction procedures. It is seen as a case of getting an incineration facility—one of the most representative NIMBY facilities—on track in a short time.
◇Green Eco Park moves in earnest… handles 500 t of household waste
According to Yongin City on the 2nd, the city will begin basic and detailed design this year and proceed in earnest with building a resource recovery facility with a total floor area of about 104,696 square meters (about 31,670 pyeong) in the Duksung-ri area of Idong-eup, Cheoin-gu. It will be a complex facility with a 500 t-per-day incinerator and a 150 t-per-day recycling sorting facility, with a total project cost estimated at about 385 billion won. Operations are targeted for 2032.
Yongin's existing incineration facility, with a daily capacity of 370 t, is already saturated. Due to increasing household waste, some is being handled externally. The city believes it needs facilities that can handle more than 650 t a day. Waste generation is expected to increase further as semiconductor industrial complexes move into full swing.
The biggest hurdle in pushing an incineration facility is site selection. Resident opposition is frequent due to concerns about environmental pollution and infringements on health rights. In fact, a past plan for an incinerator in Platform City in Giheung-gu was scrapped due to resident opposition. Other local governments, including Seoul and Gwangju, have faced similar difficulties.
◇NIMBY facility controversy "ends"… "returned as a residents' space"
During the 8th popularly elected administration, Mayor Lee took a different approach. The city repeatedly held resident meetings and briefings and organized overseas study tours to urban resource recovery facilities in places like Jeju and Japan. The aim was to break the preconception of a "NIMBY facility" on the ground. This year, additional tours to Japan and Taiwan are planned.
Large-scale investment in living infrastructure reflecting resident demands was also key to persuasion. Yongin said it will spend about 60 billion won to create a complex cultural and sports facility, resident revenue facilities, and various long-pending facilities within Green Eco Park. It will build a cultural space with sports facilities such as a swimming pool, a cafe, and walking trails, and also install revenue facilities such as a smart farm, a laundromat, and a car wash. Expansion of basic infrastructure such as roads, water and sewage, and city gas will proceed in parallel.
The function of the resource recovery facility will not be limited to "incineration." The plan is to use energy such as steam generated during waste treatment to supply district heating and even aim to create revenue. Yongin plans to develop Green Eco Park into a hub for eco-friendly energy production.
A Yongin City official said, "It usually takes decades of conflict to install a single resource recovery facility, but this time it proceeded quickly without major regional clashes," and added, "It will be a rare case of resolving conflict through communication with residents."