Unpleasant odors and piles of plastic bags containing rotting food waste littered the streets of Seoul as garbage disposers refused to make their rounds in a simmering dispute with city authorities.

Seoul’s district offices including Seongbuk, Yeongdeungpo, and Yangcheon are butting heads with private food waste management firms over a price increase in food waste treatment services.

The firms are demanding an increase in fees as food waste treatment has become more expensive due to a new law that bans discharging unpurified waste water from food waste into the sea.

Food waste is thrown away in containers at outdoor designations or in small buckets owned by individual households which the owners put outside on a set date.

Seoulites paid a flat rate but now they must pay based on the amount of food waste disposed, according to a non-binding rule which was scheduled to start this year.

However, Seoul City’s lack of measures for the metering system is causing the “food waste” conflict.

The rule asks each district to use three different options for disposing of food waste: radio frequency identification to identify users, buckets with embedded microchips, and pre-paid plastic bags.

However, few districts have introduced the new system due to a budget shortage.

Previously the price range for treating 1 ton of food waste was from 70,000 won ($66) to 90,000 won, but the firms are asking the district offices to pay 127,000 won for the service.

“It used to cost 4.5 billion won annually, but the price increase will require an additional cost of 3.5 billion won,” said an official from Seocho District Office.

The entire cost needed for the increase will reach 30 billion won for 16 district offices that have contracts with the private firms.

Some district offices have come up with stopgap measures to prevent food waste chaos on the streets.

Gangseo District Office has partly accepted the demand of the service provider and signed a one-month extension to prevent inconvenience.

Seocho District Office has also signed a temporary contract that promises to pay 82,200 won for treating 1 ton of food waste.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)