Abstract:
This paper presents an evaluation of the
current solid waste management practice in Japan.
Because of limited space, the siting and construction of a
new solid waste management (SWM) facility is a big
challenge in Japan. A SWM facility should be socially
accepted as well as environmentally and economically
sound. So it is considered to be one of the most serious
environmental problems confronting urban areas both in
developed and developing countries. From the physical
characteristics analysis of solid waste in Japan it is
shown that about 68% of the total waste is inorganic
which has good recycle value. Now-a-days, about 55%
of total paper, 78-83% of metal cans and 22.8% of
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are recycled in
Japan. At present 20.3% of total solid waste is land
filled, including ash from incineration. Approximately
75% of the gross amount of municipal solid waste that
Japan generates annually is incinerated providing an
estimated 2.5 million Kilowatts of electricity is
generated. The “waste management hierarchy”
(minimization, recovery, transformation and disposal)
has been adopted by Japan in recent times as the menu
for developing solid waste management strategies.
