Suwon City Advances Garbage Collection Start Time to 5 a.m. from June to September

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Suwon City will collect garbage starting at 5 a.m., one hour earlier than usual, during the summer months when extreme heat is expected.

From June through September, the city is changing the residential waste collection time to 5 a.m., taking into account sunrise times, and adjusting workers' shift hours from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. to 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Earlier this year, the city had adjusted garbage collection times to 6 a.m. to guarantee sanitation workers a "life with mornings."

Suwon residents should continue to dispose of garbage between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. the following day as usual, regardless of the shift hour changes.

Previously, in efforts to improve working conditions for sanitation workers, the city amended ordinances on waste disposal times and adjusted collection routes. As of January 1 this year, it implemented daytime shifts, delaying workers' hours by three hours from the previous 3 a.m. to noon schedule to 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Following the implementation of daytime shifts, worker satisfaction remained high. According to a satisfaction survey conducted by the city from April 1-3 on 515 workers from 13 sanitation contractor companies, 96.5% gave positive evaluations, including 193 rating it as "very good," 241 as "good," and 63 as "average."

Additionally, workers cited advantages of daytime shifts including "reduced fatigue (280 people)," "ability to use evening hours (266 people)," and "reduced safety risks (220 people)."

The city has adjusted collection routes to address complaints about collection delays in restaurant-dense areas and continuously promotes notifications about traffic inconvenience caused by cleaning vehicles, steadily supporting the settlement of daytime shifts.

In particular, the city decided to adjust summer work hours to ensure worker safety during the hot season in the second half of the year, taking into account sunrise times and concerns about aesthetics and garbage odors during vacation periods.

The summer shift start time of 5 a.m. was also reflected in the results of a survey of workers, where 5 a.m. was the most popular choice at 76%.

After monitoring this summer's work hour changes, the city plans to finalize sanitation workers' shift hours for next year.

A city official stated, "We are grateful to our mature citizens who are bearing the inconvenience that may arise from collection time adjustments aimed at improving working conditions for sanitation workers," and added, "We will flexibly adjust summer shifts to minimize inconvenience."