South Korea's professional baseball league has entered the era of 12 million spectators, but waste at its stadiums is becoming a growing problem. With garbage piling up faster than crowds are growing and cleaning and disposal costs climbing, critics say effective reduction measures are needed.
Trash Grows Faster Than Crowds, With Jamsil Up 132%
General waste generated at the country's nine professional baseball stadiums totaled 2,931.7 tons last year, according to data that Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, obtained from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment on the 23rd. That was up 24.3%, or 573.83 tons, from 2,357.87 tons in 2024.
Compared with 1,895.9 tons in 2023, the figure rose 54.6% in two years. Over the same period, regular-season attendance grew just 13.1%, to 12,312,519 from 10,887,705.
Among individual venues, Seoul's Jamsil Stadium, the shared home of the LG Twins and the Doosan Bears, stood out. General waste there surged 132.2%, to 497.94 tons last year from 214.44 tons in 2023. Home attendance for the two clubs rose 36.9% over the same period, but waste per spectator jumped 69.7%, to 167.5 grams from about 98.7 grams.
Provincial stadiums were no exception. Waste at Daegu's Samsung Lions Park rose 98.6%, to 433 tons from 218 tons, while Busan's Sajik Stadium saw a 61.2% increase, to 410.94 tons from 254.87 tons. Both comparisons are between 2023 and last year.
11.8 Billion Won Spent on Cleanup as Reusable Containers Face Scrutiny
Rising waste has also pushed up operating costs. Cleaning and disposal costs at eight stadiums — excluding Gwangju's Kia Champions Field, whose data was submitted confidentially — rose 28.7%, to 4.51 billion won last year from 3.51 billion won in 2023. Over the three years from 2023 through last year, the cumulative cost reached 11.87 billion won.
Reusable containers are being introduced, but some say their actual impact on waste reduction needs to be confirmed. Seven stadiums nationwide currently use them, and the Daegu and Busan venues plan to adopt them next year. Rather than simply expanding their use, the argument goes, the scope of application and collection systems should be improved and the actual reduction in waste verified.
"The surge in stadium waste cannot be solved by blaming it solely on a lack of awareness among spectators," Jin said. "Clubs and concession operators must actively work to reduce single-use items, and a system for smoothly collecting reusable containers should be established first."
"Rather than simply increasing the number of stadiums that have adopted reusable containers, it is time to precisely evaluate actual waste reduction results," Jin added. "The culture ministry, the climate ministry and the KBO should cooperate to swiftly establish tailored reduction targets and specific management standards for each stadium."