just another American teacher in SK

This is a real question ~ “Has anyone figured out how the garbage works?”

We’ve been told that waste disposal and recycling are very important in Korea and that we should follow the guidelines carefully.  The majority of the waste is considered recyclable and must be divided into categories (paper, glass, cans, plastic, organic) and placed in appropriate collection bins.  Anything that is not recyclable goes into a standard white bag, which can be purchased at any market or convenience store.  Pretty straightforward.

Well, here’s the reality:  Garbage collection is not funded by taxes or fee collection ~ in order to have your garbage collected, you have to buy the surprisingly expensive garbage bags and the revenue from the bags is supposed to pay for the garbage collection service.  Unfortunately, dumpsters are nonexistent, as are recycling bins.  So, you buy the bags, stuff them to their absolute limit, and put them on the street corner in haphazard piles for pick up.  Once a pile develops, it’s an open invitation to just drop whatever unwrapped garbage you haveaccumulated on top of the existing pile, without bothering to buy one of those expensive bags.  Most of the “organic matter” is consumed by the thriving feral cat population, the rest of it sits on the street corners until collection day.  You can imagine the results.

Garbage collection consists of a person pulling a 6′ x 8′ flat bed cart.  They pull up to a pile, sort the recyclables into appropriate category containers, and then sweep the remaining debris into the gutter.  Then it’s on to the next corner, to manipulate another reeking pile of debris.  Large items (furniture, appliances, etc) remain on the corner to be picked up by someone else, sometime later.

I am not exaggerating ~ I have never seen anything like it.  Apparently it’s not just the remote areas that have this issue ~ a friend living in Incheon describes the city method of “waste management” to be very similar.  I just don’t get it ~ there is an obsession with “cleanliness” in every interior space (residences, office buildings, businesses, even public transit), but the public areas and the streets are filthy.  The air polution is remarkable.  If you have ever wondered about the photos of people wearing face/mouth masks ~ it’s common here.  I think I may invest in one ~ but only if it’s “hello kitty” … 

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