Figure 4-2-4 Correlative Relationship between Per-capita GDP and Volume of Municipal Solid Waste Generated

Group with high volume of municipal solid waste generation	Australia, Israel, US, Denmark, Ireland
Group with average volume of municipal solid waste generation	China, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Mexico, Poland, New Zealand, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia, South Korea, Portugal, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Belgium, UK, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Luxembourg
Group with low volume of municipal solid waste generation	Japan, Czech Republic, Canada

Source: Research on Estimation of Global Waste Generation and Future Projections (Masaru Tanaka (Research Institute of Solid Waste Management Engineering, 2011))

There is a close relationship between economic growth and the volume of municipal solid waste. As shown in Figure 4-2-4, a correlative relationship can be discerned between per-capita GDP and the volume of municipal solid waste generated. It is possible that countries pursuing economic growth now will experience in the near future the waste problems that Japan has faced.

It is believed that Japan’s experiences can serve as references for such countries. It will be a significant contribution by Japan to reduction of environmental problems throughout the world. Sharing Japan’s experiences in waste and recycling with the rest of the world will also help expand the businesses that work toward a sound material-cycle society throughout the world and lead to growth through eco-innovation.

This section gives an overview of the state of waste and recycling and of the needs in Asia and the rest of the world. It attempts to find a way to apply the experiences that Japan has today to other countries. It is hoped that Japan's experiences in the fields of waste and recycling and the efforts that it has made over time in developing social systems, technologies, and lifestyles can help to solve the world's waste problems.

### 2. State of the World’s Waste and Recycling

Throughout the world, demand for resources is increasing and the prices of oil, rare metals, and food have soared due to rapid growth in population and the rise of emerging countries. As mentioned earlier, waste is expected to increase from now on due to the rapid economic development of developing countries, and measures for waste and recycling have therefore also become extremely important from an international perspective. Some developing countries in particular are having the same problems with public sanitation, pollution, and waste that Japan has faced.

We will now take a look at the worldwide situation of waste, the current situation of waste and recycling in developing and developed countries, and the measures being taken.

## (1) State of Waste in the World

Figure 4-2-5 shows shifts in Japan’s per-capita nominal GDP and comparisons with major countries in Asia and South America. After World War II, Japan achieved tremendous economic growth and its per-capita GDP became number three in the world in 1993 (in the most recent 2010 rankings, Japan is number 16 in the world, according to the IMF “World Economic Outlook”). Comparing this trend with countries in Asia and South