AN EVALUATION OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE IN JAPAN

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.