Army officials in Taegu plan an outdoor exhibit Friday to show U.S. military community members who live off-post how to follow South Korean laws on disposing of food, cans, bottles and other refuse.
The information is important for Americans, officials said, because breaking the rules leaves them open to penalties of up to $100 from Taegu authorities.
Environmental officials from Taegu City’s Nam-gu district will join Area IV Support Activity personnel for the exhibit outside the entrance to the Camp Walker Post Exchange from noon to 4 p.m.
Nam-gu is the district in southern Taegu where camps Henry, Walker and George are located.
Officials will provide specifics on which trash bags off-post residents must purchase at local grocery stores and use in trash disposal, said Robert Chartier, chief of the environmental division at Area IV’s department of public works.
“They’re the bag that the consumer has to purchase from one of the local stores,” Chartier said.
Breaking the rules carries off-post penalties, he said.
“Off-post it’s anywhere between $50 and $100 fine for each incident,” Chartier said. “Because that’s the way the city generates their revenue for recycling.”
Information boards and pamphlets will provide further details, Chartier said.
With many servicemembers on one-year South Korea tours, officials need to inform them periodically about the ins and outs of trash disposal, Chartier said.
“We have to continually educate and continually remind the public of the benefits of those programs,” he said.
“This might help the foreigners, and especially American soldiers’ families, to … dispose of trash properly,” said Choe Kyong-ae, environmental engineer with Area IV’s public works department.
Chartier said the exhibit also will cover the rules for on-post refuse disposal. Breaking the rules on base doesn’t come with fines, but it can cause trouble, Chartier said.
“The residents are subject to ticketing by the MPs for not following policy,” Chartier said.
If the instances of ticketing got to be “flagrant,” he said, residents can “be subject to removal from government quarters … along the lines of not following installation policy,” he said.
