# Kobe 3R Action Plan

We, the G8 Environment Ministers, based on our discussion in Kobe of the 3R Initiative, 24-26 May 2008,

Recognizing that the increase in waste generation and waste not treated in an environmentally sound manner is contributing to worsening environmental pollution worldwide including air, soil and water pollution as well as greenhouse gas emissions,

Recognizing, at the same time, that the quantity of raw materials wasted as a result of inefficient resource and waste management worldwide is immense,

Noting that the 3Rs, through initiatives to “reduce,” “reuse” and “recycle” materials and waste, aim to promote efficient resource use and harmonization of the environment and the economy,

Acknowledging that, by promoting sustainable consumption and production, the 3Rs activities can contribute to increases in resource productivity and decoupling resource consumption and environmental degradation associated with economic activities,

Understanding that, in order to construct a sound material-cycle society by increasing resource productivity and decoupling, it is necessary to ensure efficient resource use and minimization of environmental impact along the entire product life cycle, starting with resource inputs and including the production process, consumer choices, and product use, reuse and recycling (sustainable consumption and production),

Emphasizing that, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is necessary to further the promotion of energy recovery, material and chemical recycling, and biological and thermal waste treatment, taking into account the environmental benefits and costs across all waste management processes,

Emphasizing that an international point of view for efficient use of resources through the promotion of the 3Rs is required to respond to the advancing interdependence of the world economy, expansion of trade in materials and products, and resource constraints due to increasing demands,

Recognizing that, with limited technical capacity and knowledge of environmentally sound waste management and the 3Rs, many developing countries face health and environmental risks associated with the improper management of waste,

Noting that, in this context, 3Rs policy can contribute to the promotion of environmentally sound management of waste by supporting the implementation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal,

Realizing that while the transfer of efficient technologies and knowledge to developing countries may help address these issues, such technologies and knowledge must be suitable for local circumstances, cost-effective, environmentally-sound and socially appropriate,

Noting that, in the context of poverty reduction in developing countries, 3Rs policy can contribute to the UN Millennium Development Goals by opening up new markets and creating employment opportunities, taking into account the role of the informal sector while at the same time protecting the environment and human health,

Recognizing that resource and waste management policy is a potential driver of innovation and jobs in industrialized and newly industrializing countries,

Recognizing that the consistent application of regulatory, economic and other instruments results in the development of a wide range of technologies, organizations and applications in all areas of the 3Rs as well as in waste management, and that at the same time, it gives rise to new job opportunities with higher skills requirements,

Recognizing the value of the work done by OECD to develop tools for the 3Rs, including tools for environmentally sound waste management, Extended Producer Responsibility, Material Flows Analysis, resource productivity, and sustainable materials management,

Reconfirming that the G8 countries need to show active