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Life HackHow To Dispose Trash In Gwanak-gu: A Guideline

6 Apr 2024
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โœ‹๐ŸผHello, this is Checkmate!

When you first arrive in Korea, and get a house (via Checkmate, we hope!), you might get lost in everyday life. Don’t worry, we got you. You can use the guideline below to dispose trash properly in South Korea!


Korea is very strict when it comes to trash disposal, so you have to be very cautious when you throw away the trash bag! So make sure to read the guideline below carefully and don’t get any fines!


๐Ÿ‘ฟWhy Is It Super Hard? 
  • Garbage bags are different from region to region!
  • Each district has its own official garbage bag, so if you live in Gwanak-gu, you should use the one that’s made for Gwanak-gu.


๐Ÿ“ŒTypes of Garbage Bags
  1. General Waste Bag (์ผ๋ฐ˜ ์“ฐ๋ ˆ๊ธฐ ๋ด‰ํˆฌ)

  • The color of this general waste bag differ from districts, but it’s this white color for Gwanak-gu. 
  • You should put all the waste in this bag, but separate the recyclable waste.


  1. Food Waste Bag (์Œ์‹๋ฌผ ์“ฐ๋ ˆ๊ธฐ ๋ด‰ํˆฌ)

  • This yellow bag is for food waste, and you should put all food waste here. But keep in mind that some food leftovers can be mistaken as food waste, but they’re actually general waste!
  • Food Waste 
    • Food waste includes anything edible. However, you just have to follow the golden rule of: “If an animal will eat it, then it goes in the food waste bag”
    • E.g. fruit peel, vegetable peel, watermelon skin, uneaten cooked or uncooked meat, raw egg without the shell ..
  • DON’T INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN FOOD WASTE:
    • Egg shells, crustacean shells (Crab, Lobster, Shrimp, etc), clam shells, onion and garlic paper-like skin, animal bones (beef, pork, chicken, lamb, etc), tea bags or tea leaves. 
    • These are general waste!


  1. Recyclable Waste Bag (์žฌํ™œ์šฉ ์“ฐ๋ ˆ๊ธฐ)
  • You don’t need to by a particular bag for recycling because you will usually separate recyclable waste in different containers. If your location does not provide separate recyclable bins, you can collect all your recycling in any plastic bag and then leave it in the designated area.


  • If you can’t find the recycling bins area, ask your landlord or your building management office. In some instances, they are not located in the same area as the general and food waste areas.



๐Ÿ“ŒRecycling Symbols

  • Paper Pack (i.e. juice, milk pack..) 
  • Glass (i.e. Beer bottles)
  • Cans (i.e. Aluminium or Iron)
  • Paper (i.e. printing paper, magazines, newspaper, boxes, cartons...)
  • Plastic (DOES NOT INCLUDE Toys, stationery pens, small candy wraps)
  • PET (Bottles)
  • Vinyl (i.e. snack bags, dessert wraps…) 


๐Ÿ“ŒWhere Can I Buy the Garbage Bags?
  • These special garbage bags are available in convenience stores, chain supermarkets, or your friendly neighborhood marts. However, please be noted that any garbage bags are only available in bulk (20 bags are 1 set).
  • The easiest place you can find them is convenience store, you can easily buy them at a nearby convenience store like GS25 or CU! 



๐Ÿ“ŒSome Useful Tips 
  • General Waste (์ผ๋ฐ˜ ์“ฐ๋ ˆ๊ธฐ)
    • General waste is everything that doesn’t belong in the recyclables or food waste categories. General waste includes used tissue, used toilet paper (in the cases where you don’t flush it down the toilet), sanitary pads, old shoes and clothes, etc


  • Recyclable Waste (์žฌํ™œ์šฉ ์“ฐ๋ ˆ๊ธฐ)
    • Recyclable waste is actually quite easy to classify because most packages include a recycling symbol that indicates in which type of container the waste belongs to.


๐Ÿ“ŒOversized Waste (๋Œ€ํ˜• ์“ฐ๋ ˆ๊ธฐ)

As the name states, oversized waste is waste that is too big to be collected in a conventional garbage bag. Examples include refrigerators, induction cookers, TVs, air conditioners, gas ranges, big furniture like bed mattresses, sofas, desks, coffee tables, microwaves, washing machine, etc.

For oversized waste, you have to contact your local district office and request an oversized garbage disposal. When you call, the office will ask you about the type and size of the waste. Afterward, the office will provide you with a sticker to place on whatever you are planning to dispose of. Place the oversized object in the designated area on the appointed date and it will be taken care of.

You also can do this process online (most districts have an English version). To do this, just go to your district’s official website, look for an oversized garbage disposal tab, select the type of object, select your way of payment, credit or bank transfer, and then print the sticker and attach it on the object. Afterward, place your oversized waste in the designated area on the appointed date.

Here is the link to the Gwanak’s Official Website (Eng ver)

https://gwanak.go.kr/site/eng/main.do


๐Ÿ“ŒCollection Time & Place

Garbage disposal times and locations in South Korea depend on each district.

Even though the day of the week may be different among districts, the time of garbage pickup is typically after sundown (7:00PM-ish or 8:00PM) until early in the morning next day (5:00 AM).

For Gwanak-gu, here’s the garbage collection time & place!

  • Time: Every day except for Saturday
    • Living district: From 18:00 to 24:00
  • Location: In front of each building
  • How to dispose: By using the proper garbage back
  • Inquiries: 02-879-6203


๐Ÿ“ŒFines

If you don’t comply with these regulations, you will have to pay a fine, and depending on where you live they can be up to โ‚ฉ300,000 (around $222) 



๐Ÿ€We hope this information has been useful to you : )

In case you have difficulty doing bank transfer or talking to a Korean call center agent,

Consider subscribing to Checkmate membership ! You can enjoy Unlimited Translation, Bank Transfer service, Continuous 1:1 consultation with Checkmate on Whatsapp! 


You can find more info on our website:


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