Table 4-3-1 Major regional efforts (based on a hearing survey by the Subcommittee for the Planning of a Sound Material-Cycle Society of the Central Environment Council, after the formulation of the First Fundamental Plan)

Region	Major efforts
Hokkaido Prefecture	Formulated the Hokkaido Prefectural Fundamental Plan for Establishing a SMC Society to launch efforts to create a Hokkaido-style SMC, and strives to enact a municipal law as an institutional framework.
Yamagata Prefecture	Formulated the Yamagata Prefectural Fundamental Plan for Establishing a SMC Society (Zero-Waste Yamagata Promotion Plan), and takes measures to develop recycling-oriented industries and reduce the amount of final disposal to zero, with the aim of becoming the prefecture with the smallest amount of waste generation in all Japan.
Kawasaki City	Formulated the “Kawasaki Challenge 3Rs” policy, which addresses the transformation of industrial structures and the concentration of R&D-oriented industries, and set up a kitchen garbage recycling plan that takes account of regional characteristics.
Kyoto City	Formulated the Kyoto Waste Management Strategy 21, which incorporates a variety of numerical targets such as effort indices for the public, enterprises and government, and takes measures to address the upstream processes of waste management, sorting and recycling, and responsible disposal.
Kamakura City	Achieved the highest recycling rate for two consecutive years (in FY 2004 and 2005) among those cities with a population of 100,000 to 500,000, through the sorting of waste into 20 categories.
Hachinohe City	Works toward the goal of “creating a Hachinohe model for an eco-friendly city based on the establishment of a SMC Society” by making use of Eco-town and recycling port projects, and by becoming designated as a Special Zone for Aomori Prefecture Environment and Energy Industry Creation.
Shibushi City	Successfully reduced the amount of landfill waste by 80% after enforcing the sorting of waste into 28 categories.
Motegi-machi, Tochigi Prefecture	Seeks to achieve regional circulation based on local production for local consumption, by promoting eco-friendly agriculture which starts from the soil improvement stage, using compost produced at the organic matter recycling center.
Takigawa City	Seeks to reduce waste, mainly by making use of one of Japan's largest kitchen garbage biomass plants.
Funabashi City	Promotes recycling based on local production for local consumption and the reuse of unwanted articles, and has proposed the use of gift boxes that eliminate the need to use wrapping paper.
Ikeda-cho, Fukui Prefecture	Promotes advanced ecological farm communities by capitalizing on farm communities' capabilities through activities such as soil improvement by means of compost made from kitchen garbage, the sale of the products of organic farming, and an eco-point program to encourage consumers to bring their own containers.
Kamikatsu-cho, Tokushima Prefecture	Promotes zero waste, e.g., by declaring that the town will reduce the amount of landfill and incineration waste to zero by 2020, through the sorted collection of waste into 35 categories, and by means of other programs.
Fukushima Prefecture	Promotes a society in harmony with nature, a zero-waste society, and a society based on the mottainai spirit, in line with the municipal law for establishing a SMC Society and a plan for the establishment of a SMC Society.
Kyoto Prefecture	Formulated the Kyoto Prefectural Plan for the Establishment of a SMC Society, which sets specific targets over a wide variety of areas, and promotes enterprise efforts through certification and registration systems.
Aichi Prefecture	Aims to create recycling businesses that take advantage of the local concentrations of industries and technologies, in line with the Aichi SMC Society Establishment Plan and its action plan, the Aichi Eco-town Plan.
Nagasaki Prefecture	Working towards “zero-waste Nagasaki”, and has established promotion and implementation plans and 221 actions to be taken as part of these plans.

Source : Ministry of the Environment

## 3 Implementing more effective measures

## (1) Organic combination of institutional frameworks and support measures

The optimal size of a SMC block depends on the properties of the CRs involved. Therefore, when establishing a SMC block (with appropriate waste management as a precondition), the government will determine the optimal size for each type of CR by considering regional characteristics (e.g., the state of waste generation, the location of relevant treatment facilities) from an environmental perspective (e.g., anti-global warming, biodiversity conservation), a resource perspective (e.g., scarcity, utility), and an economic perspective (e.g., transport efficiency, treatment costs). On the other hand, the government will also follow the procedures described below in establishing SMC blocks whose optimal size is already fairly obvious. These include SMC blocks for biomass CRs, for which intraregional circulation is suitable because biomass is generated in specific regions and decomposes easily, and those for CRs requiring advanced treatment technology, for which wide-area circulation is more desirable.