# Technologies to Support A Sound Material-Cycle Society — Development of 3R and Waste Management Technologies—

## Executive Summary

Waste is inevitably produced in the course of human activity. Once produced, this waste needs to be treated and disposed of hygienically and quickly, with all due consideration for the protection of our environment. All countries produce waste, and as such, a country’s efforts to tackle its waste problems provide a yardstick for that country’s efforts on environmental problems.

In Japan, efforts to solve waste problems fell behind in the process of high-level economic growth after the war. This led to the widespread practice of illegal dumping and the accumulation of toxic substances. A shortage of final disposal sites for waste became a serious problem, meanwhile, owing to the limited availability of land in Japan. Through these experiences, Japan has pushed through major reforms in the field of waste and recycling policies over the past ten to twenty years. And today, we are striving to create a sound material-cycle society (“SMS”), in which the consumption of natural resources will be reduced and the burden on the environment mitigated through our use of the so-called 3R activities (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle waste).

Japan’s attempts to create a SMS involve continuous efforts not only by the central government but also by local authorities, businesses, the general public, and all other sectors of our society. The platform for these efforts is provided by technologies related to waste management and 3R. As our socio-economic activities have expanded and people’s lives have become more affluent, the generation of waste has also increased and the types of waste have proliferated. Technologies to combat waste have also evolved in response to these changes, and some excellent technologies have been introduced following reforms in the field of waste and recycling policies. Japan, a country with meager natural resources, has also amassed abundant experience of effectively using resources through the application of recycling technology.

Today, the problem of waste is one that not only affects Japan but is shared across the globe. Some developing countries are finding it difficult to cope with the increased generation of waste resulting from rapid economic growth. Meanwhile, recyclable resources such as scrap metal and waste paper are circulating not only inside Japan but also across our borders. And beyond this, the sustainable use of natural resources is now an issue of global proportions.

Given the present situation as described above, this year’s White Paper will focus on the technologies that support the creation of a SMS in Japan. It will also evaluate development of 3R and waste management technologies as well as the roles of technology, and examine the outlook for future progress. By focusing on these technologies, the following two effects are expected to arise. Firstly, our understanding of 3R and waste management will be improved. Waste is produced in our everyday lives, and we all cause waste problems at the same time as suffering their consequences. As such, it is important to know how items that we discard are reused or recycled, and how they are correctly managed as waste. Various technologies are involved in this process. Understanding the processes of 3R and waste management through these technologies will awaken our self-awareness as producers of waste, and this will serve to promote 3R initiatives. Secondly, our understanding of these technologies will serve to encourage the people engaged in developing and introducing them. Technologies lying at the foundation of 3R and waste management have been developed and introduced as the fruit of hard labor, as well as trial and error, by many technicians, experts and researchers. As such, understanding these technologies will also help us to understand the efforts of these people, and could stimulate them to tackle the development of even more advanced technology in future.

As the composition for overview 2, the need for global promotion of 3R and expectations of Japan’s technology will first be explained, followed by an examination of the basic technologies that support Japan’s SMS, divided into their respective purposes. Finally, the policies that have promoted the development and introduction of these technologies will be summarized, and the future outlook for 3R and waste management technologies will be examined.