sites having an average capacity of only another 7.2 years as of April 2005.

In FY2005 there were 558 cases of illegal dumping of industrial waste in Japan, continuing the downward trend of the consecutive two years.

## (3) Legislation and efforts to facilitate the formation of a Sound Material-Cycle Society

To solve these problems, the following measures have been promoted in line with the Fundamental Law for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society: (i) reducing wastes; (ii) reusing end-of-life products and parts; (iii) recycling wastes as raw materials; (iv) recovering heat; and (v) appropriate disposal as final waste. In line with these basic principles, the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law will be implemented as well as other recycling-related legislation.

In an effort to promote recycling, the Law for the Promotion of Sorted Collection and Recycling of Containers and Packaging was partially revised in June 2006, to introduce new mechanisms. This includes the practice of businesses to financially compensate municipal governments that contributed to the reduction of container or package waste by introducing effective measures or to the efficient recycling of containers and packages by introducing

Figure 5-4-5: Trend of Illegal Dumping Cases and Illegally Dumped Waste Volume

Notes:1. The chart above illustrates illegal dumping of industrial wastes (at least 10 tons per case) identified by prefectures or cities with public health offices. (However, cases that involve specially controlled industrial waste are all included in the chart)

2. As shown in the chart above, the illegal dumping case in Gifu City was discovered in FY2003, while that in Numazu City was detected in FY2004. Because waste disposers illegally dumped industrial wastes for several years before that, these two cases were identified as large-scale dumping cases in said years.

Source: Ministry of the Environment, State of the Illegal Dumping of Industrial Waste

sophisticated methods of sorted collection. In response to this legislation, municipal governments have been promoting collaborative efforts with businesses to reduce container and package waste. For example, municipal governments carry out model projects such as a program to encourage shoppers to use their own bags instead of using stores' plastic bags and promote relevant education and publicity programs, and also enter into voluntary agreements with highly motivated businesses that introduce pioneering programs for facilitating waste reduction.

The Central Environment Council and the Council of Food, Agriculture and Rural Area Policies held meetings to jointly review and discuss existing systems under the Law for Promotion of Recycling and Related Activities for the Treatment of Cyclical Food Resources. Consequently, they submitted a bill, during the 166th Diet session, for the partial amendment of a law that proposes the introduction of strengthened guidance and supervision over food businesses and the expansion of the scope of special exemptions provided for by the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law to apply to food businesses when their agricultural produce, stock farm products or marine products are using food refuse-originated fertilizers or feeds with the consent of the competent minister.

Also, in order to create an infrastructure that supports a Sound Material-Cycle Society, the improvements of waste-treatment facilities and recycling facilities are underway through the cooperation between the national and local governments and the use of subsidies, etc. designed to promote the formation of a Sound Material-Cycle Society.

In addition, for the purpose of promoting countermeasures against illegal dumping to ensure appropriate waste treatment, the governments have been making efforts to promote the wide utilization of the electronic manifest system, education for industrial waste-management contractors, proper, safe treatment of PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) and development of toxicity-free treatment of asbestos-contained wastes.

## (4) International efforts

As part of efforts to globally promote the 3R initiative, the Asia 3R Conference was held in Tokyo in October 2006. Representatives from China, South Korea, Singapore, etc. got together to share the understanding of the significance of the Asia-wide promotion of 3R efforts and had active policy dialogues for further promotion of the 3R initiative.