No.108 Submission of Opinion to Environment Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Plastic Resource Recycling

In July of this year, there was a newspaper report stating that the government had decided to create a new category of "plastic resources" and request municipalities across the country to collect plastic resources all at once, which came as a surprise.
Up until now, each local government across the country has taken initiative in garbage treatment and recycling. Waste goes through collection, transportation, intermediate storage, intermediate processing, etc. before heading to a final disposal site. In each process, waste is processed using various methods depending on the actual circumstances of each region, so methods such as waste separation and collection categories, collection locations, collection transportation, and intermediate processing differ depending on the local government.
However, this report suggests that a nationwide blanket collection of plastics will be mandatory, and it is not something that each local government can immediately respond to.
Therefore, we decided to raise the issue at the National Association of Mayors' Special Committee on Environmental Measures, which I chair, and to deliver local governments' opinions to the Ministry of the Environment.
In October 2020, we asked the member cities of the special committee for their opinions, and held a meeting on November 9, 2020, where officials from the Environmental Recycling and Resource Recycling Bureau of the Ministry of the Environment asked about environmental issues related to this matter. After receiving an explanation of the ministry's thinking and exchanging opinions, we compiled a written opinion.
Approximately 8 million tons of plastic waste leaks into the oceans around the world every year, making environmental pollution a problem on a global scale. On the other hand, in Japan, the amount of one-way containers and packaging waste per person is the second highest in the world, and as waste import regulations are expanding in Asian countries, there is a need for domestic resource circulation more than ever.
In light of these circumstances, the government formulated the "Plastic Resource Recycling Strategy" in May last year, and in September of this year compiled the "Basic Direction of Future Plastic Resource Recycling Measures," which aims to reduce plastic waste from households. We have requested that municipalities sort and collect containers, packaging, and products.
The national government's efforts can be evaluated from the perspective of dealing with the marine plastic waste problem and promoting the formation of a recycling-oriented society, but the current container and packaging recycling system places a heavy burden on municipalities, and new measures and systems are needed. If the introduction of this system would further increase the burden, it would be difficult not only to improve the sophistication of plastic resource recovery, but also to expand and continue it.
The purpose of this opinion paper is that the national government should reflect the opinions of municipalities when building policies and systems, so that many municipalities can take measures tailored to local circumstances, and that this may cause confusion among residents and the field. We request that you provide detailed information and ensure sufficient preparation time to avoid any delays.
Local governments across the country co-incinerate a certain amount of plastic waste when incinerating trash. Incineration generates carbon dioxide, so there is an urgent need to reduce it in order to prevent global warming. However, simple incineration is out of the question, but many incineration plants, including Clean Center Tamagawa, are producing electricity and using hot water. We are implementing heat recovery.
Even if the entire amount of plastic waste were recycled, a considerable amount of residue would be generated that is difficult to reuse as raw material due to dirt and other reasons, and would have to be incinerated.
Furthermore, if all plastic waste is collected separately, the proportion of non-combustible food waste will increase, and if additional fossil fuels are required to be used as a result, carbon dioxide emissions will increase.
Taking these circumstances into account, rather than requiring a sudden change in collection methods across the country, each municipality should be able to independently choose its own disposal method, and aim to reduce the use of avoidable plastics. , called for creating an environment where businesses can engage in environmentally friendly design, the use of reused containers and products, reducing excessive use, and switching to alternative materials.
On November 17, 2020, I visited Minister of the Environment Koizumi and Vice-Minister of the Environment Nakai, handed this opinion directly to them, and exchanged opinions with them. Although we were not able to obtain approval for all items, we were able to receive the local efforts and actual situation seriously.
As the responsibility of the local government, we will continue to plan and implement feasible measures and submit our opinions to the national and metropolitan governments as necessary.