Figure 3-5-1 Local Recycling Zone Categories and Multi-Tiered Composition

Source: Ministry of the Environment

that exists in harmony with nature so that the bounty of nature can be enjoyed by future generations. With these areas of focus in mind, it requires organic cooperation and collaboration among various stakeholders to produce

## 2 Categories of Local Recycling Zones

When creating local recycling zones, it is useful to think of them within conceptual categories. The optimal material-cycle range will differ according to the characteristics of the recyclable resource. For example: (1) a biomass-type recyclable resource that is produced only in a given area and which is prone to decomposition would be recycled appropriately within the area of its production; while (2) for a resource requiring the application of advanced treatment technology, recycling encompassing a wider region would be appropriate. Also, the category and range will differ depending upon the local characteristics of the target area as well as the location of existing recycling-related facilities, and so on.

(1) Rural Plains, Mountains, and Seaside Local Recycling Zones

In recycling zones centered on rural towns and villages, a multi-tiered interweaving of new sound material-cycle businesses and environmental initiatives, combined with the development of recycling systems that revitalize communities from the standpoint of regional development.

biomass resources derived from rural agricultural, forest, and marine products industries would be locally produced and locally consumed. For example, in rural plains and mountain areas, low-carbon recycling systems would be constructed so as to incorporate composting and feed production using kitchen waste, and other such approaches. Energy systems such as micro-hydroelectric power generation or utilization of the energy derived from the agricultural or livestock industry would be put in place as a source of renewable energy.

In seaside areas, initiatives would be advanced such as the utilization of marine-derived waste products (fish ileum, shells, and so on), a network to reuse fishing vessels, and the utilization of biodiesel fuel (BDF) in fishing vessels. Furthermore, environmental education, eco-tourism, and other tourism industry-related initiatives could be put in place to utilize the abundance of the natural environment in these rural areas, thereby revitalizing them.

(2) Urban and Suburban Local Recycling Zones

Urban areas with significant population density produce a diverse range of recyclable resources. These resources can be efficiently recycled by collaborating with venous industry clusters (eco-towns, and so on) and arterial industry clusters (coastal industrial zones, industrial parks, and so on), and by including suburban agricultural areas.

A specific example of how such urban-rural collaboration could work would be the creation of a symbiotic relationship between an urban area and a rural suburban area, where the urban area provides its food waste to be utilized as feed and fertilizer by the rural suburban area, and the rural suburban area, in turn, provides the urban area with the agricultural products that are produced as a result.

## (3) Arterial Industry Local Recycling Zones

The bases and infrastructure of core arterial industries (cement, steel, non-ferrous smelting, paper-making, and so on) would be utilized to a greater degree than they have been previously; at the same time, through collaboration with urban areas that produce a large volume of recyclable resources, recycling system creation and energy utilization systems would become more sophisticated.

(4) Recycling-Oriented Industry (Wide-Area)

Local Recycling Zones

The conversion technologies, wide-area reverse physical distribution systems, and so on, possessed by eco-towns, which have a concentration of recycling-oriented industries, are made even more sophisticated. In addition, through collaboration with arterial industry local recycling zones, superior systems would be created for the recycling of recyclable resources for which highly efficient conversion treatment systems have not existed so far.

Recycling industry functions, such as sorting centers, would be utilized, and economic activity would be stimulated through the creation of local recycling zones.

## 3 Promoting Local Recyclable Resource Utilization Towards Tohoku Regional Reconstruction

A great deal of waste was left in the wake of the earthquake disaster, and it is essential for this material to be reused, to the greatest extent possible, as building materials and the like in recovery and reconstruction efforts. Also, it is important for the Tohoku region's status as a base for companies possessing superior detoxification and recycling technologies to be utilized to turn the region into a leading hub for recycling businesses, thereby stimulating the economy, creating jobs, and contributing to the creation of a leading-edge sound material-cycle society.

Towards this end, in FY 2012 the Ministry of the Environment is: (1) providing support for the creation of resource recycling plans by local councils, including local governments; (2) undertaking demonstration projects

Figure 3-5-2 Conceptualization of Rural Plains, Mountains, and Seaside Local Recycling Zones

Source: Ministry of the Environment