Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Crack Down on Illegal Waste Disposal and Environmental Pollution at Junkyards
The Gyeonggi Provincial Special Judicial Police will conduct a planned crackdown on 150 junkyards across the province for two weeks from September 7 to 18 to eradicate environmental pollution activities such as the illegal dismantling of waste home appliances by recyclable resource collection businesses, commonly known as junkyards.
This crackdown is being carried out to prevent hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a refrigerant, from leaking into the atmosphere during the illegal collection and dismantling of waste home appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners, and to preemptively block abandoned waste and illegal dumping caused by the indiscriminate collection and storage of unlicensed waste.
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a representative greenhouse gas that causes a greenhouse effect up to 10,000 times greater than carbon dioxide, and dismantling waste home appliances without proper recovery risks accelerating climate change and environmental pollution. Accordingly, waste home appliances must be recovered and treated through legitimate waste treatment companies in accordance with relevant laws such as the Wastes Control Act.
In addition, as cases of indiscriminate collection and storage of highly profitable waste beyond the items that junkyards are permitted to collect increase, concerns over environmental pollution are also growing. The indiscriminate collection of waste exceeding proper treatment capacity leads to the long-term generation of abandoned waste, and can ultimately create a vicious cycle of illegal waste treatment, in which it is entrusted to companies lacking sufficient treatment capacity or is illegally dumped.
In response, the Gyeonggi Provincial Special Judicial Police plans to conduct an intensive crackdown on 150 junkyards suspected of illegal activities, selected through satellite image analysis, resident tips, and on-site investigations.
The main targets of the crackdown are: △illegal dumping of waste △unlicensed collection, transport, and recycling of business site waste △unreported installation and operation of waste treatment facilities △violations of waste treatment standards and methods △failure to recover refrigerants from waste home appliances and illegal dismantling activities.
The Special Judicial Police plans to take strict measures against detected violations, such as filing criminal charges in accordance with relevant laws including the Wastes Control Act, and to immediately notify the relevant city or county of matters requiring administrative disposition.
Kwon Mun-ju, head of the Gyeonggi Provincial Special Judicial Police, said, "Refrigerant leaks occurring during the illegal dismantling of waste home appliances are environmental crimes that directly affect climate change," adding, "We will establish order in waste treatment through strict crackdowns on illegal waste treatment activities without exception, and protect the health of residents and the environment."