Guide to waste sorting and disposal

At a glance

• General waste: put it in the volume-based bag of the city, county or district where you live.
• Recyclables: sort them by type following the 4 principles: empty, rinse, separate, do not mix (Seoul guidance).
• Food waste: dispose of it separately from general waste. Meat and fish bones, hard seeds, and clam and nut shells are general waste (Seoul common standard).
• Bulky waste: report it to the city, county or district, pay the fee, then put it out with the disposal number or disposal sticker attached.
• Disposal places, days, times and bag prices differ by city, county or district.

Who needs to do this

• Owners, occupants and managers (including tenants) of land or buildings that generate household waste must store and dispose of it separately by type, nature and condition under city, county or district ordinances.
• Mayors, county heads and district heads are responsible for processing household waste, and fees are set by ordinance and collected by selling volume-based bags and similar means.

Where to do it

• Disposal places, days and times differ by city, county or district. For example, in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, waste is put out at the designated spot in front of your home or shop. Residential areas put it out 18:00~24:00 and street areas 22:00~01:00 the next day, and there is no disposal on Saturday (Gwanak-gu guidance).
• In Seoul, residents’ self-governing bodies handle sorted collection in apartment complexes. For detached houses, sanitation workers collect recyclables put out at the door (Seoul resource circulation).
• Check the exact rules for your area in the environment or cleaning menu of your city, county or district office website. Seoul points residents to the "Separation in My Hand" app (내 손안의 분리배출) and district websites (Seoul guidance).

What to prepare

• General waste: the standard volume-based bag of your city, county or district (bought at a local retailer in that area).
• Food waste: in detached houses (including multi-household, row and multi-family houses), drain as much water as possible, put it in a dedicated food waste bag and place it in the dedicated container (Gwanak-gu example).
• Bulky waste: the disposal number or disposal sticker issued after you report to the city, county or district and pay the fee (Gwanak-gu bulky waste guidance).

Cost

Volume-based bag prices are set by city, county or district ordinances, so they differ by area. Below is the Gwanak-gu, Seoul example.

• Large discarded home appliances can be handed over through a free home pickup service (1599-0903) (Seoul guidance).
• For bag prices in other cities, counties or districts, check the website of that office.

Procedure

• Step 1 (principles): dispose of recyclables following the 4 principles: empty, rinse, separate, do not mix (Seoul sorting principles).
• Step 2 (paper): tie newspapers and boxes so they do not get wet. Tissues and diapers are not disposed of as paper.
• Step 3 (paper cartons): rinse milk and drink cartons, flatten them and dispose of them separately from ordinary paper.
• Step 4 (cans): empty the contents and remove plastic caps. Pierce compressed containers such as butane gas cans to release the gas before disposal.
• Step 5 (glass bottles): remove the caps and empty the contents. Wrap broken glass in newspaper and put it in a volume-based bag.
• Step 6 (plastics): remove caps made of other materials and empty the contents. Remove tape and other foreign matter from styrofoam.
• Step 7 (plastic film): if it is soiled, wash it before disposal.
• Step 8 (clear PET bottles): dispose of them separately from other plastics. After apartment complexes, detached houses were also covered from December 25, 2021. Remove the label and compress the bottle (Policy briefing).
• Step 9 (food waste): under the Seoul common standard, onion, garlic, ginger and corn husks, green onion roots, chili seeds, hard seeds such as peach and apricot pits, clam and nut shells, meat and fish bones, and tea and herbal medicine residue are general waste, not food waste (Seoul common standard).
• Step 10 (salty food): rinse salty food such as kimchi, doenjang and gochujang with water before disposal (Gwanak-gu guidance).
• Step 11 (bulky waste, Gwanak-gu example): apply online (Smart Clean Gwanak, 스마트클린 관악) or through the call center (02-882-5677) and pay the fee to receive a disposal number. Write the number on the item or print and attach the disposal sticker, and put it outside the building on the 1st floor for collection (Gwanak-gu bulky waste guidance).

Common sticking points

• Even within Seoul, the application site, fees and disposal days can differ by district. When you move, check the rules of the district office at your new address again.
• Fines (Gwanak-gu example): using a bag other than a volume-based bag is 100,000 won (1st), 200,000 won (2nd) and 300,000 won (3rd); dumping bulky waste without reporting is 100,000~300,000 won; not sorting by type is 100,000~300,000 won; illegal dumping from a vehicle is 500,000 won; illegal burning of household waste is 200,000~500,000 won.
• Gwanak-gu imposes a fine of up to 200,000 won for disposing of food waste without separating it or mixed with foreign matter.
• Non-combustible waste that cannot be recycled, such as stationery, mixed-material toys, rubber hoses, ceramics, broken glass and tiles, is disposed of separately in Gwanak-gu as "special household waste" (special PP sack: 10L 1,020 won, 20L 2,040 won).

This guide is general information and does not assess individual situations. Disposal rules, bag prices and fines differ by city, county or district and can change, so check the original text through the official links and with your local city, county or district office.