Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
and required disposal companies to carry waste to disposal sites in an appropriate manner. Edo already had a responsible waste disposal mechanism that somewhat resembles today’s measures used to prevent illegal dumping.

## B Development of new agricultural land

The wastes carried to Eitaiura for final disposal were primarily household kitchen garbage and soil combined with the rubble removed from fire sites, all of which decomposed naturally in about a year. Since Eitaiura was originally a wetland, rubble and soil dumped there as waste eventually formed new land. The shogunate government, which was developing new farmland, found this reclaimed landfill site valuable and used it for agriculture.

Records show that, starting with the reclamation project in Fukagawa Eitaiura, the government reclaimed at least 10 sites, including Eitaijima Shinden and Sunamura Shinden (49.5 hectares), during the Edo era.

By the late 18th century, over 380,000 tsubo (approximately 1,254,000 square meters) of land had been reclaimed (Figure4-2-3).

This section provides an overview of the history of Japan’s responsible waste disposal activities, from the Meiji to Heisei eras(Figure4-2-4).

Figure 4-2-4 Japan’s history of appropriate waste disposal

Legislation and policy formulation	Organizational change	Changes in systems and technology	Per capita GDP
(in US dollars)
1954 Public Cleansing Law	1960	477
1967 Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control
1970 Waste Management Law	1971 Environment Agency established	(1970)
Improvement in hygiene	1970	1,963
1976 Amended Waste Management Law
1991 Amended Waste Management Law	1980	9,170
1995 Containers and Packaging Recycling Law	1985	11,381
2000 Fundamental Law for Establishing a SMC Society	2001 Ministry of the Environment established (waste management administration transferred from Ministry of Health and Welfare)	(1990)
(2000)
3Rs	1990	24,815
2003 1st Fundamental Plan for Establishing a SMC Society	1995	41,952
2008 2nd Fundamental Plan for Establishing a SMC Society	2000	36,790
2005	35,675

Source: Ministry of the Environment.

## Column

## “Kudaranai” and SMC blocks for local production for local consumption

Compared with high-grade sake transported from the Kamigata region, local sake in Edo was cheaper and therefore called “kudaranai” sake, literally meaning sake not brought down from Kamigata. Some believe that the expression “kudaranai” in the modern Japanese language, meaning worthless, is derived from this.

However, this word also demonstrates that products from Kamigata had become easily available in Edo as a result of economic growth in areas around Edo. The fact that the word kudaranai and economic growth, two seemingly opposite elements, were actually more like two sides of the same coin suggests that things regarded as kudaranai today may have a more complex background than first thought and could actually be of some use.
new hoops), umbrellas and paper lanterns (by re-covering them). In addition, most kimonos, shoes and other sundry items were also reused. Tradesmen such as these are believed to have gone from door to door looking for business and are thought to have played an important role in supporting Edo's SMC. Furoshiki, the cloth wrappers that these peddlers used for carrying goods, have found new roles in today's modern Japan and are commonly used in many different ways.

Other tradesmen specialized in purchasing used metal products. They bought every kind of iron product, including old kitchen knives and pans that were no longer useful, and other metal products made of copper, brass and so forth in order to recycle them as raw materials. Ash from cooking stoves was collected by “ash men” for use as potash fertilizer by farmers (see Section1. (1). B) as well as for papermaking, dyeing and many other useful purposes. Haiya Joeki, a wealthy merchant and a well-known man of culture in the Edo era (and the person on whom the leading character in the novel Koshoku Ichidai Otoko, written by Ihara Saikaku is thought to be based), was engaged in the ash recycling business. “Haiya,” which literally means “the ash store,” was his popular name. In the Edo era, ash from cooking stoves was collected in order to produce fertilizer or for use in indigo dyeing, sake brewing and papermaking. This shows that recycling activities had developed much momentum in these fields.

[Edo artisans]

Source: Hokusai Manga (Sketches by Hokusai)

The book rental business also boomed during this period. Records from 1808 indicate that book rental shops formed regional groups (kumi or gumi) and that Edo had 12 such groups, including Nihonbashi Minami-gumi, Honmachi-gumi, and Kanda-gumi, consisting of approximately 650 members in total. Osaka also had about 300 people running book rental shops. A document titled Edo Hanjoki (A Sketch of Edo's Prosperity), written in the 1830s, states that there were 800 book rental shops in Edo, indicating the popularity of this business. A typical shop had a clientele of 170-180 households and Edo, alone, is assumed to have had as many as 100,000 readers of rented books.

Some other examples of cooperation and collaboration are found in the nagaya terrace houses in Edo, which, although small in size, were the focus of ordinary people’s daily lives. For instance, each nagaya building had a shared well (ido), which was a key area for the residents. As represented by the word “idobata” (well-side), the residents gathered around the well to carry out kitchen chores. Nagaya also had a shared dumpsite and shared toilets (mentioned earlier) that were jointly maintained by the residents. Another example, this time in the field of child education, is that textbooks for the students of terakoya private elementary schools were shared among siblings and relatives, with some books used for over 100 years as they were passed on from one child to the next.

[Edo artisans]

Source: Hokusai Manga (Sketches by Hokusai)
# Chapter 3

# Community-local-blocks-national-international-based SMC establishment

## Section 1 Establishment of SMC blocks

## (1) Significance of SMC blocks

The First Fundamental Plan for Establishing a SMC Society defined material flow indicators, which measure the macroscopic progress of SMC formation, and effort indices, which measure progress in terms of the efforts made by different entities, and set numerical targets for both. Since the formulation of this plan, progress has been reviewed in every fiscal year. The review results have been used for the development of the new fundamental plan, which has again defined material flow indicators and effort indices and introduced supplementary indicators as well as indicators for trend monitoring. By defining national-level indicators and numerical targets, the new fundamental plan has provided clear motivation for the establishing a SMC Society and is now capable of evaluating the results.

A new concept introduced to the second Fundamental Plan is the establishment of SMC blocks, in which a material cycle of optimal size is formed in accordance with the characteristics of the region and the properties of its CRs. With appropriate waste management as a precondition, the idea of SMC blocks is aimed at establishing the opti-

Figure 4-3-1 Various Spheres of SMC

The following is rough classification of CRs and the scope of cycle, although the scope of cycle differs depending on economic rationality and technical feasibility and the like.

○ Circulative Resources (CRs):

Circulative resources (such as metals, soil and stone, and items difficult to be disposed of) that cannot be disposed of property within a local area due to the lack of advanced technology and quantitative problems, but that can be effectively disposed of in a region where there is a cluster of environmental industries by taking into account transportation cost and the peculiarity of disposal.

Source : Ministry of the Environment

The scope of cycle changes from several prefectures to the whole country, depending on the characteristics of CRs.

It is important to develop and improve a cluster of environmental industries and venous distribution network including cooperation between eco-towns and utilization of recycle ports, because the scope of cycle is extensive.
mal size of material cycle for each type of CR by considering regional characteristics 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). For example, circulation within the region would be suitable for biomass CRs, which are characterized as being generated in specific areas and are easily decomposed, whereas wide-area circulation would be more desirable for CRs requiring advanced treatment technology, etc. (Figure4-3-1).

## (2) A vision for SMC blocks

Chapter 2 of the Fundamental Plan provides a medium-to long-term vision for the establishment of a SMC Society. This is a specific medium- to long-term vision of how a SMC is to be formed by around 2025, focusing on the creation of a sustainable society, and serves as a basis for cooperation and collaboration among the different entities which are essential for the establishment of a SMC Society. A particularly important component of this vision is the idea of creating a SMC in such a way that it makes the most of local and regional characteristics.

This basic concept underlying SMC blocks involves establishing a more customized and more effective SMC by forming SMC blocks of optimal size. The optimal SMC block can be based at the community level, the regional level, the special block level, the national level, or even the international level, in accordance with CR properties and regional characteristics. This concept is expected to become a driving force for local community revitalization based on self-reliance and mutual cooperation.

The following sections describe some of the concepts

Figure 4-3-2 Material cycle in agricultural, forestry and fishing villages

Agricultural, forestry and fishing villages

A conceptual image of a SMC based on community size and characteristics is described below.

> CRs produced in agricultural, forestry and fishing villages include lumber from thinning, livestock manure, and shells, as well as kitchen garbage, which is collected separately from other municipal solid wastes.

> These CRs, together with other CRs, are used as biomass resources for energy recovery through methane fermentation and the production of fertilizer, feed, soil conditioners, etc.

> This forms a material cycle in which agricultural products produced using this fertilizer are consumed within the same region (local production for local consumption)

Source: Ministry of the Environment
related to SMC blocks, as proposed by the Fundamental Plan as part of its medium- to long-term vision for the establishment of a SMC Society.

## A Communities

At the community level, unwanted articles are reused through exchanges between neighbors or through their sale at flea markets. Broken-down products are repaired in order to extend their useful lives as much as possible. In addition to the reuse and recycling of goods through recycling centers, recycling activities involving citizens and NGOs/NPOs are also conducted, mainly at municipal recycling facilities that also have the capability to educate the public, leading to the development of community businesses. With regard to transport, contributions are made to the development of communities with low environmental burdens through initiatives such as the effective use of bicycles.

## B Agricultural, forestry and fishing villages

CRs generated in agricultural, forestry and fishing villages include lumber from thinning, livestock manure, shells, and kitchen garbage subject to sorted collection. As biomass CRs, they are converted into fertilizer and feed which are then used for agriculture, stock farming and fishery, the products of which are then consumed within the same area. This forms a material cycle based on local production for local consumption. The formation of this type of material cycle, based on local production for local consumption, and other such efforts directed towards sustainable agriculture, forestry and fishery all contribute to the conservation of satochi-satoyama, which are community-based nature areas serving as habitats for wildlife (Figure4-3-2).

## C Small and medium cities

Small and medium cities, if they are close to farming villages, form material cycles that connect urban and rural areas. In such a cycle, biomass CRs which are constantly generated in cities are carried to farming villages to be used as fertilizer and feed in agriculture and stock farming so that the resultant agricultural and stock farm products can be consumed in the cities. The use of such CRs as energy sources is promoted in accordance with local characteristics. If no facilities exist in the neighborhood, industrial waste is distributed elsewhere in order to be reused as CRs across a relatively wide area by means of a distribution network (Figure4-3-3).

Figure 4-3-3 Material cycle in small and medium cities

When a city is close to farming villages, biomass waste that is steadily generated in the city is carried to those villages to be used as fertilizer and feed.

Agricultural produce from these villages is consumed in the city.

If no resource recovery facilities exist in the neighborhood, industrial waste is distributed across a relatively wide area through a distribution network, to be reused as CRs.

Source: Ministry of the Environment
## D Large cities

In large cities, large amounts of wastes are constantly generated and collected because of the concentration of waste generators. Extensive resource recovery, waste reduction (by incinerating non-recyclable wastes) and heat recovery during these processes can therefore be carried out efficiently on a large scale. For example, the multi-stage, large-scale use of wastes can be implemented fully and efficiently through the recycling of residues from the primary cyclical use of biomass CRs and plastics or through heat recovery (Figure4-3-4).

## E Intra-block and national circulation

In SMC blocks formed within special blocks or at the national level, the material input required for production activities is strictly restrained in the industrial cluster at the center of the material cycle. Also, as recycling industries concentrate around these activities, the wide-area collection of CRs can be carried out by means of land and marine transportation, and the efficient use of CRs is facilitated by economies of scale and mutual cooperation within the cluster. Efforts directed towards zero emissions are intensified through the application of technologies, infrastructure and the expertise of arterial industries. In particular, CRs can be more efficiently utilized by means of new technologies, such as those used for recovering valuable CRs that are present in only limited amounts (e.g., rare metals) and those used for detoxifying hazardous wastes (Figure4-3-5).

## F International resource circulation

In international SMC blocks, CRs are utilized in a way that makes the best use of each country’s characteristics. Japan uses CRs that require advanced recycling technologies and are therefore difficult to recycle in other countries. First, a domestic SMC Society is formed in each country, followed by the enhancement of measures to prevent illegal imports and exports of wastes and the establishment of traceability procedures to monitor the transboundary movements of wastes. Consequently, transboundary movements of CRs are facilitated in consideration of a division of labor between the countries involved (Figure4-3-6).

Figure 4-3-4 Material cycle in large cities
Figure 4-3-5 Intra-block and national circulation

## I ndustrial city (wide-area collection & high-efficiency disposal)

➢ Concentration of recycling and related industries allows the collection of circulative resources over wide areas, using land and marine transportation.

➢ Zero emissions are achieved through the use of cycles formed within industrial cities.

## I ndustrial city (arterial-venous links)

Industrial city (nonferrous metal treatment technology)

Existing technologies, such as arterial industries' techniques, infrastructure and expertise, are applied in order to ensure the efficient use of CRs.

A contribution is made to the creation of a sound material-cycle society based on original technologies, for example, by collecting high-value-added CRs,

Industrial city (total waste treatment)

Both general and industrial wastes are widely accepted for disposal purposes. With industrial wastes, in particular, both biomass-type wastes and industry-derived wastes are accepted for large-scale treatment if the disposal facilities are located halfway between urban and rural areas.

The recycled CRs and the collected energy are reused for industrial activities, minimizing the amount of final disposal.

Source: Ministry of the Environment
Figure 4-3-6 international resource circulation

Source : Ministry of the Environment

# Resource circulation in SMC blocks~Examples that have led to successful revitalization of local communities

## (1) Community-based and local resource cycles

## A Rape Blossom projects

Rape Blossom projects are currently underway in many communities and involve collaboration between farmers and members of the public. In these projects, rapeseed oil is extracted from rape blossoms grown on land converted from paddy fields. The oil produced is used for cooking at schools (for school meals), restaurants and homes, while oilcake is used to make animal feed and compost, which is then returned to the rape blossom fields as fertilizer. Waste cooking oil is collected for use as biodiesel fuel. Some projects aim at a higher level of local involvement by incorporating beekeeping, advertising rape blossom fields as a tourist attraction, and providing environmental education programs for elementary, junior high and high schools. Efforts such as these, directed towards community development and focusing on resource circulation and energy independence, are being carried out in many parts of Japan.

## B Motegi Town

In the town of Motegi (Motegi-machi), kitchen garbage (collected separately from other waste) is mixed with fallen leaves from forests and livestock manure to produce compost at Midori-kan, the town's organic matter recycling center. Composting not only helps reduce incineration costs and hazardous substance generation, but also allows the restoration of traditional agriculture, involving soil improvement with compost and the promotion of eco-friendly agriculture which uses no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. This initiative aims to produce safe, high-quality agricultural produce. The town has established both a mechanism for local production for local consumption, in which the agricultural products produced are consumed by local people, and a system to supply food products for use in school meals, with the aim of providing better nourishment for children's minds and bodies (Figure4-3-7).

## C Shibushi City

With no incinerating facilities of its own, Shibushi City has to dispose of all its wastes in landfills. By means of the sorted collection of wastes into 28 categories, the city government has successfully reduced the amount of landfill wastes by 80%. This was achieved by forming organi-
zations called residents' sanitation associations and by enforcing sorted collection in cooperation with the public under the slogan of “Promotion of tiresome things.” To deal with kitchen garbage, the city also implements the “Sun Sun Sunflower Plan,” which produces sunflower oil from kitchen garbage as part of its efforts to achieve zero landfill wastes through regional collaboration (Figure4-3-8).

Figure 4-3-7 Regional Material Cycle

Source: Documents provided by the Central Environmental Council

Figure 4-3-8 Efforts in Shibushi City

Wastes in Shibushi City

Source: Documents provided by the Central Environmental Council
Figure 4-3-9 Aichi Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives

Source : Ministry of the Environment

Figure 4-3-10 Joining together welfare, agriculture and environmental conservation

Source: Shiga Prefectural Center for Support of Employment, Living and Participation
plastic from a different range of areas because of the difference in weight between these wastes (Figure4-3-11).

An analysis of the circulation of iron scrap, by region, suggests that the majority of iron scrap generated is used within the same regional block, both for economic reasons and because of the presence of electric furnaces that use iron scrap. Interregional circulation is observed only on a complementary basis (Figure4-3-12).

There are also attempts underway to recover valuable resources from hazardous or hard-to-treat wastes by using advanced technologies. Since the number of facilities capable of treating such CRs is limited, wider-area resource cycles should be formed to allow them to be used most effectively (Figure4-3-13).

## A Northern Akita Prefecture

In the northern part of Akita Prefecture, which was once one of the world's richest mining areas, a project to recycle metals by making use of the local mines and refineries is now underway. Based on the zero-emissions concept, which aims to completely eliminate waste by using all industrial waste as raw materials in other sectors, the region has been approved under the Eco-town program which seeks to create communities in harmony with the environment while also fostering regional development. The region now serves as a wide-area recycling center for metals, including rare metals (Figure4-3-14).

A private enterprise initiative in this region, carried out in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention and participating Asian countries, is planning a project to collect used mobile phones from Asia and recover resources from them.

## B Kawasaki City

Kawasaki City has developed its coastal “Kawasaki Eco-town,” which aims to minimize environmental burdens on the region and create a sustainable society in which industrial activities are in harmony with the environment. In this Eco-town, local companies seek to reduce environmental impact factors in every aspect of their activities, from production through to the disposal of their products. As well as promoting such company-level efforts, the Eco-town strives to establish a regional resource cycle through collaboration among companies and the use of recycling facilities. The material flow in Kawasaki Eco-town indicates that cyclical use has increased within Kawasaki (Figure4-3-15).

Figure 4-3-11 Examples of intra-block resource cycles

Source: Action Plan to Promote Construction Wood Recycling in Chiba (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

Source: National Institute for Environmental Studies
Figure 4-3-12 Circulative use of iron scrap

Source: Left: Japan Ferrous Raw Materials Association; Right: Annual reports on steel, nonferrous metal and ferrous metal products, and trade statistics

Figure 4-3-13 Examples of waste disposal and collected items