## (3) Impacts on the material circulation caused by sudden changes in market conditions

Many natural resource prices plunged due to decline in demand, following the global economic slow down since the latter half of 2008. This also influenced prices of recyclable resources.

For example, since the summer of 2008, the prices of scrap iron have fallen sharply (Figure2-2-7), and the prices of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), raw materials for plastic bottles, have also drastically declined since around the fall (Figure2-2-8).

Therefore, concerns were raised that the used plastic bottles may remain in export businesses and municipal recycling facilities in large quantities, and the domestic price of flakes, reproduced from used plastic bottles, may significantly drop.

Thus, the prices of recyclable resources will be strongly affected by the price fluctuations of natural resources, when traded in the market. Therefore, in

Figure2-2-7 Trends in Scrap Iron Prices

improving a stable domestic recycling system, it is important to understand the impacts of the economic factors, such as the global market conditions and to build a mechanism considering these factors.

Figure2-2-8 Market Condition Changes in Japan’s PET Flake and Virgin Materials

Virgin materials are raw materials of PET directly produced from petroleum Source: Council for Remarchandising Used PET Bottle

Considering the circumstances mentioned above, trends in economic activities have various effects on energy consumption, fuel and resource prices and capital investment in environmental facilities. When considering environmental measures, incorporating economic affairs such as energy price fluctuations are important. The Action Plan for Achieving a Low-carbon Society stipulates to promote the provision of information on $ CO_{2} $ emissions and in addition to utilize market mechanisms by pricing $ CO_{2} $ emissions in order to promote $ CO_{2} $ emission reductions in all sectors. Improving the integrated performance of environmental, economic and social aspects based on the Basic Environment Plan is also necessary.

## 3 Trends in Activities to Reduce Environmental Burdens

Next in this section, we look at the trends of entities addressing on environmental issues including the national government, local governments, companies, NPOs and NGOs.

## (1) Approaches of the Japanese Government

Japan is addressing various environmental conservation-related policies. The Ministry of the Environment coordinates each ministry and government office's budget related to environmental conservation, as the expenditure for environmental conservation, every fiscal year in order to develop environmental conservation-related policies efficiently and effectively as the whole government. In recent years, the ratio of environmental conservation expenditure to the national budget has mostly leveled off, and the total amount of the environmental conservation budget is declining in response to the reduction of the overall budget, and is on a downward trend in general (Figure2-3-1).

## (2) Approaches of Local Governments

Local governments, familiar to their residents, are playing an increasingly important role on environmental measures. The number of officials in charge of environmental administration in local governments was 75,235, 3.0% of the number of officials in charge of general account field (general administration field) as of April 1, 2008, showing a downward trend (Figure2-3-2). One of the reasons for this is considered outsourcing of collection and management operations, including waste and night soil to the private sector in the cleanup field. Although the number of officials in the cleanup field and pollution field is on a downward trend, the number of officials in the environmental conservation field has been slightly increasing in recent years.

Although the Figure2-3-3 and the Figure2-3-4 show that the position of environmental administrations in