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| Trash is piled high under a signboard that shows the city's intention to crack down on illegal dumping. / Yonhap |
By Lee Han-soo
Chuncheon city is suffering from massive amounts of illegally dumped trash in residential areas near colleges.
Although the city has stepped up inspections and issued fines to college students, it has seen little improvement.
Cleaners say trash not in standard disposable plastic bags is the least of their worries.
Illegally dumped trash includes used toilet paper, leftover food, plastic containers and sanitary items, sometimes all in the one bag.
"Those who illegally dump trash can be fined up to 100,000 won ($87)," a city official said. "However, considering that college students have limited budgets, we fine them 50,000 won if they come out and properly sort out the trash in standard bags."
But city cleaners say students rarely clean up their mess.
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| City cleaners sort through the contents of garbage bags to separate recyclables from trash. / Yonhap |
"Most of the time it's hard to locate the offenders, but even if we do they rarely come out," a cleaner told Yonhap News Agency. "Students opt to reject the calls or turn off their smartphones after receiving a call from us."
The cleaners then send a text notifying the students of a fine.
But city officials say it is even harder to enforce the fine.
"Most students try to avoid paying the fine," the city official said. "They only come down to city hall and make the payment after we send a text saying that we will report the case to the police if they do not make an appearance."
The city office said its trash crackdown will run until Apr. 28. But it plans to stop collecting trash from areas that continue the illegal dumping after the crackdown to encourage self-regulation.
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