Japan’s Policy toward
Sound Material-Cycle Society
and Plastic Waste Reduction
23rd January 2020
KONUMA Nobuyuki
Office for Promotion of Sound Material-Cycle Society
Ministry of the Environment, Japan1. Policy toward
Sound Material-Cycle Society

1Legislative Framework
Fundamental Environmental Law

1994．8Fundamental Law for
Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society

2001．1

From 1970

Waste Management and Public
Cleansing Act

Promotion of Effective Utilization ofResources Act

Recycling Laws
Container andPackaging
Recycling Act

Home
Appliances
Recycling Act

Construction
Materials
Recycling Act

Food Wastes
RecyclingAct

End-of-life
VehiclesRecycling Act

Small Home
Appliance
Recycling Act

2000．42001．4

2002．5

2001．52005．1

20012．8

Law on Promoting Green Procurement

2

3R Principle
Fundamental Law for Establishinga Sound Material-Cycle Society
Resource Input
Production

1: ReduceConsumption

3: Recycle
Disposal

2: Reuse

Treatment(recycling, incineration, etc.)

4: Heat and Energy recovery
Final disposal

5: Proper disposal

3

Fundamental Plan for Sound Material-Cycle SocietyThe
Fundamental
Plan
Pillars of theStrategy

Integrated measures toward a sustainable society
Integrated improvements on the environment, economy and society
RegionalCircular andEcologicalSphere

Proper
Waste

ManagementandEnvironmental

International
Resource
Circulation

Restoration

Resource
Disaster
Circulation
Waste
throughout
Management
the entire
Systems
Lifecycle
Sustaining fundamentals for 3Rs and waste management
Technologies, Human Resources and Awareness Raising, and Information and Databases

4

Targets and Indicators for progress monitoring
50

Resource productivity ＝GDP/ Input of natural resources, etc.
• An indicator that comprehensively represents how effectively
materials are used in industrial activities and people’s daily
lives, in terms of creating more wealth using fewer resources.
• The indicator was first adopted in a national-level plan inJapan.

20%

16%
10%0%
5%
2000

3rd plantarget

2005

2010
2015
[Fiscal Year]

2020

30
20

[ten thousand JPY/ton]

100
2000

2005

2010
2015
2020
[Fiscal Year]

2025＝Amount of cyclical use/ Generation of waste, etc.

FY2025 target: 47％ = approx. 30% increase from FY2000

18%
4thplantarget

2025

Final disposal amountFY2025 target: 13 million ton = 77% cut from FY2000

50%

45%
44%

45%

2010
2015
[Fiscal Year]

2020

40%

3rdplantarget

35%

30%0%
2000

最終処分量 ［百万トン］

FY2025 target: 18％ = approx. 80% increase from FY2000
17%

3rdplantarget

49
4thplantarget

Cyclical use rate (waste base)＝Amount of cyclical use / (Amount of cyclical use + Input of natural resources, etc.)

15%

38

40

FY2025 target: 490,000JPY/ton =approx. double from FY2000

Cyclical use rate (resource base)

46

2005

60

20

[Industrial waste] 10 million ton in FY2025 = 77% cut from FY2000

02025[million ton]

40

[Municipal solid waste] 1 million ton in FY2025 = 70% cut from FY2000

47%
4thplantarget

142000

2005

2010

2015

[FiscalYear]年度

3rd plantarget

17

2020

4thplantarget

13

2025

5

Changes in municipal waste generation and final disposal Generation of municipal waste continues to decrease after a peak of 55 million tons in 2000
 The amount of final disposal continues to decrease along with progress in promoting 3R
Municipal waste generation

6000
5113 5090

5291 5310
5127 5180 5222

5361 5370

5483 5468 5420 5427

5338 5272

5000

5202

5082
4811

4625 4536 4543 4523

4487 4432 4398

4317

4000

3000

2000 1638

1530 1496 1414

1000

0*1360 1309

1201 1135 1087

1051 995 903

845 809 733

681 635

553 507 484

482 465 454 430 417 398*'91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16* Waste generation per day per head (g/person–day)- 1991- 2000- 2010

1,118
1,185
976

(g/person–day)(g/person–day)(g/person–day)

Waste generation (10,000 tons)

Final disposal (10,000 tons)

Municipal waste final disposal*6Improvement of Recycling Rate (Home Appliance)

95

Recycling Rate (%)

90858075
7065605550(Fiscal Year)45

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

(Recycling RateCriteria)

Air Cinditioner

78

78

81

82

84

86

87

89

88

88

89

91

91

92

60%(-2008),70%(2009-)

CRT TV

73

75

78

81

77

77

86

89

86

85

79

82

79

75

55%

74

79

83

87

89

89

Liquid Crystal/Plasma TV
59

61

63

64

66

71

73

74

75

76

79

80

80

80

50%(2009-)
50%(-2008),60%(2009-)

Washing machine/Clothes dryer 56

60

65

68

75

79

82

84

85

86

87

86

88

88

50%(-2008),65%(2009-)

Refridgerator/Freezer[Note1] Liquid crystal / Plasma TV and Clothes dryers were added in 2009.
[Note2] There was a temporary decrease in the recycling rate of CRT TV between FY2009 and FY2011.
This was because collecting some of the CRT glass became more expensive than recycling them.

7Support from National Government

Subsidy from Ministry of the Environment
to local governments
Subsidy: 1/3 or 1/2 to waste management facilities including WtE plants- In line with government’s policy and plan
- Meet the requirements of “Waste Management Facility Performance Guidelines”- Comply with relevant regulations8

2. Outcome of the G20 Summit onMarine Plastic Litter9Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution
Beach litter along the coastline*Samples of drifted wastes

Plastic container

Tobishima, Sakata, Yamagata

Tsushima, Nagasaki

Fishing gear

Detergent container

Negative impacts• Concerns regarding marinelife• Obstruction for ship sailing• Impacts on tourism andfishery• Impacts on the residential
environment along thecoast

Source: UN World Oceans Day

A whale has died afterswallowing more than 80
plastic bags
Source: Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment,
Thailand

Small plastic fragments
Source: Isobe lab, Kyusyu
university10Global Marine Plastic Pollution＜Global Marine Plastic Pollution＞＜Marine Plastic Litter by Region＞(Unit: million tons /year)■G7:0.09~0.23■G20(excluding G7)
2.19~5.86■ASEAN(excludingIndonesia)
0.93~2.47■Other
1.57~4.19

Distribution Density of microplastics （1~4.75mm）（model projection）(Source）Erikson et al. :（2014）, “Plastic
Pollution in the World’s Oceans: More than
5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over
250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea”, PLoS One 9(12), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111913

Color bar
(Unit: pieces km−2)
Yellow: 1,000-10,000
Orange: 10,000-100,000
Red: 100,000-1,000,000

8.77（Sum of Medians）(Note) The ratio is calculated by using medians of respective estimates.
(Source） Jambeck et al. : Plastic waste inputs fromland into the ocean, Science (2015)

Estimation by a researcher based on population density,economic status, and etc.
There is no agreed international statistics on Marine
Plastic Litter.

11

Outcomes of the G20 Osaka Summit
Osaka Blue Ocean Vision
・G20 leaders shared the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision as a common
global vision
・ They also called on other members of the internationalcommunity to also share this vision for protecting the world'soceans“We aim to reduce additional pollution by marine plastic litter to zero by 2050
through a comprehensive life-cycle approach that includes reducing thedischarge of mismanaged plastic litter by improved waste management andinnovative solutions while recognizing the important role of plastics forsociety.”

G20 Implementation Framework
・Adopted on G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environmentfor Sustainable Growth・Also endorsed by G20 Osaka Summit“We also endorse the G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on MarinePlastic Litter. ”

12G20 Implementation Framework for Actions
on Marine Plastic Litter
Facilitating the Effective Implementation
 Promoting a life-cycle approach including
sound waste management, marine littercleaned up, promotion and deployment ofinnovative solutions, and international
cooperation in order to support eachcountries in strengthening their capacity.
 Sharing and updating information on
relevant policies, plans and measures.
Utilizing opportunities of G20 Resource
Efficiency Dialogue for the first info sharing.

Voluntary actions
by the G20members
Reinforcing efforts in linewith the G20 Action Planon Marine Litter

Information sharing
and continued
updating

Collaboration among G20 members and outreach activities
 Promotion of international cooperation
 Promotion of innovative solutions
 Sharing scientific information andknowledge
 Multi-stakeholder involvement andawareness raising13

Outcomes of G20 RE Dialogue 2019 and Follow-up
of G20 Implementation Framework on MPL
Date and Location: 8-11th October 2019, Tokyo/Japan
Organizers:
MOEJ (METI, UNU-IAS, IGES)
Participants:
G20 and Outreach countries
International Organizations, Academia(app. 100 participants)
 Prepared G20 Report on Actions against MPL, based on information provided
from G20 members, for initial information sharing and peer learning inaccordance with the G20 Implementation Framework.
 Developed a Roadmap for G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue by consensus as a
guidance to effectively promote the future activities of the G20 RE Dialogue.
 Joint initiatives of MOEJ, EU DG Environment and USEPA to voluntarily take a leadin further elaborating key issues (such as ‘sources, pathways and impacts’ by EU
DG Environment; ‘harmonized monitoring and data compilation’ by MOEJ;‘innovative solutions’ by USEPA) by holding workshops.
 Contribution of relevant international organizations to advance their work
relevant to the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision and the G20 Implementation Framework.
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Japan’s Resource Circulation Strategy for Plastics“3R + Renewable”
ReduceReduce the use of single-use plastics(add “value” such as through mandating
payment for plastic bags)

RecycleEasy to understand and effective
sorted collection and recycling ofplastic resources
Development of a domestic resource
circulation system given theembargoes of Asian countries
Recycled plastics／Bio-plastics
Support technical innovation andinfrastructure development
Government procurement[Milestones]<Reduce>①Cumulative suppression of 25% of
single-use plastics by 2030
<Reuse/Recycle>②Reusable/recyclable design by 2025
③Reuse/recycle 60% of containers andpackaging by 2030
④Effective use of 100% of used plastics
by 2035 by reuse and recycling etc.
<Recycling and Biomass Plastics>⑤Double recycling by 2030
⑥Introduce about 2 million tons ofbiomass plastics by 2030
15

Japan’s Action Plan for Marine Plastic Litter
Countermeasures①Promotion of proper waste management system②Prevention of littering, illegal dumping andunintentional leakage of waste into the oceans③Collection of scattered waste on land
④Recovery of plastic litter in the oceans⑤Innovation in development of alternative materials
and conversion to those⑥Collaboration with stakeholders⑦International cooperation for promoting measuresin developing countries⑧Survey on actual situations andaccumulation of scientific knowledge

While sharing Japanese best practices (experience, knowledge and technology)internationally, the Japanese government will take the lead in addressing the issue ofmarine plastic litter effectively to realize a world without additional pollution by plastic litter.

16International Cooperation on Waste Management
Contribution through exporting a package of waste management
technologies, systems, and capacity building
Bilateral cooperation:
Support for system development• Thailand: Memorandum of Cooperation onindustrial waste management• Vietnam: assistance fornational 3R strategy
development• Philippines: support to form thewaste-to-energy guideline

Ongoing projects in Asia-Pacific•Introduction of waste to energy plant inYangon, Myanmar•

F/S for waste-to-energy facility
construction in Davao, Philippines•

Comprehensive support program forintroducing waste-to-energy technology toIndonesiaMultilateral cooperation:
Regional 3R Forum in Asia Pacific• More than 500 participants including Ministers fromAsia-Pacific countries• 10th Forum will be held in Russia, Autum 2020

WtE plant completed inApril 2017 in Yangon

17Multilateral Cooperation and Coalition
 Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific was established in
2009, with the aim of promoting high-level policy dialogue for 3R
and resource efficiency policies in the Asia-Pacific region.
 African Clean Cities Platform (ACCP) was established in 2017,with the aim of contributing to capacity building and sharingexperiences on municipal waste management in Africa.
 World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) is a forum for all
entities to share good practices toward transition to a circular
economy, and 2nd Forum was held in Japan in 2018.

18

Thank you foryour Attention