Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, studied the actual state of RDF facilities, conducted demonstration tests for possible accidents, and developed safety measures in December 2003. Based on those measures, the Agency revised the Fire Services Law in June 2004, and revised the ordinances to add recycled resource fuels including RDF to the specified combustibles materials in July 2004. These measures went into effect in December 2005. With those revisions, municipal governments added standards for the location of storage and handling of recycled resource fuel, as well as technical standards for the structure and equipment for such storage or handling, to their own fire prevention ordinances in order to ensure safety.

## d) RPF (refuse paper & plastic fuel)

Difficult to recycle used paper and waste plastic (excluding vinyl chloride) found mainly among industrial wastes are crushed and then compression-formed after iron pieces are removed. Such formed products are called refuse paper & plastic fuel (RPF). RPF is made from industrial waste, which has an easily known history of being produced as an RDF material in comparison to combustibles derived from non-industrial wastes. Since this does not require a drying process, the production process of RPF is simpler. RPF can have a heat capacity of about 5,000-10,000 kcal per kg by adjusting the mixture ratio of used paper to waste plastic and is used in substitution for fossil fuels such as coal or coke by paper manufacturers and steel manufacturers. (Fig. 2-45)

Fig. 2-45 Flow of RDF production

A general view of RPF production line

## e) Methane fermentation

Methane fermentation acquires methane from organic substances by an anaerobic fermentation process. It is suitable for biomass waste such as kitchen garbage and animal feces, which have high water content. The methane gas obtained is used as a fuel for power generation.
Residues of methane fermentation can be used as compost and liquid fertilizer. There are also cases where kitchen garbage and sewage sludge are mixed with each other, made soluble, acid-fermented, and then methane-fermented, in order to stabilize the content of the methane fermentation tank and also treat discharged water in the existing facilities of a sewage treatment plant. (Fig. 2-46)

Fig. 2-46 Example of methane fermentation

## Column

## Chicken feces power generation plant

In Miyazaki Prefecture, where livestock farming is a major industry, the first chicken feces power generation plant in Japan was constructed in fiscal 2001 and has been in operation since April 2002.

About 50% (100,000 tons annually) of the chicken feces produced all over the prefecture is collected and incinerated at the plant. Water vapor produced in the boiler is used as a heat source in fertilizer production processes as well as for power generation. Incineration ash is granulated into fertilizer.

Outline of project

Number of beneficiary households	Poultry farming households in the prefecture: 232 with 11,914 thousand chickens
Broiler-farming households among the above: 203 with 8,841 thousand chickens
Layer-farming households among the above: 29 with 3,073 thousand chickens
Processing plan	Chicken feces: 100,000 tons/year
Broiler feces among the above: 91,000 tons/year
Layer feces among the above: 9,000 tons/year
Quantity of incineration ash produced	10,664 tons (to be granulated and sold as fertilizer)

Source: NANGOKUKOSAN Co., Ltd.
Diagram of chicken feces boiler

## f) Biodiesel fuel

Biodiesel fuel (BDF) can be substituted for light oil and used in automobile diesel engines. It is made from biomass materials such as waste food oil. BDF has low sulfur oxide content, so the exhaust contains low concentrations of sulfur oxides. Since it is an oxygen-containing fuel it promotes engine combustion, making it a clean fuel characterized by low carbon monoxide and dark smoke emissions.

The process of producing biodiesel fuel involves first causing fats (triglycerides) in waste food oil to react with methanol (transesterification) to produce fatty acid methyl esters. Glycerin and other byproducts produced at the same time are separated out from the obtained reaction oil. The remaining oil is then refined into biodiesel fuel.

Kyoto City collects about 125 kiloliters of waste food oil annually at about 1,000 collection sites in the city in cooperation with members of unit communities. The collected oil is made into biodiesel fuel at a dedicated plant with a capacity of 5,000 liters per day. The fuel is used in garbage trucks (equivalent to 210 trucks) and city buses. (Fig. 2-47)

Source: Homepage of Kyoto city
Fig. 2-47 Production of bio-diesel fuel

Source: Hitachi Zosen Corporation

## g) Bioethanol

Fuel ethanol is produced using construction waste wood as the main material along with paper trash and food residue (tofu refuse, etc.) by means of saccharification by diluted sulfuric acid, two kinds of genetically modified microorganism (KO11), and yeast. (Fig. 2-48)

Fig. 2-48 Production of bio ethanol from waste wood materials

## 4 Technologies for metal circulations

Every economic and social activity has a material basis. Metals? in the form of home appliances, automobiles, and buildings? are especially important to supporting life in modern society. This section discusses a sound material-cycle society from the perspective of metals, explaining the cyclic use of major metals such as iron, copper and aluminum, as well as and rare metals, and the technologies that enable cyclical use.
## (1) Iron, copper and aluminum

By-products and waste should be recycled and reused or properly disposed whenever recycling and reuse is difficult. The highest priority, however, is to avoid discharging waste. The material industry in Japan is working to reuse and recycle by-products and waste produced in manufacturing processes within a plant as a way to minimize the waste discharged by the production system. The industry also smelts and refines scrap metal collected in town for use in production.

Iron is the most common metal to man. The quantity of crude steel produced in Japan is about 110 million tons annually. The steel industry recycles internally produced scrap and scrap collected in town as a production resource. Every year about 48 million tons of scrap iron is used in electric furnace processes where the scrap is melted by electricity for use in steel production or by blast furnaces where scrap iron is used in the converter step of steel manufacturing in which iron ore and coal are used as materials.

To produce one ton of pig iron, about 1.5 tons of iron ore, about 0.8 tons of coal, and about 0.2 tons limestone are consumed in the production process. Components other than the iron in iron ore melted in a blast furnace to produce pig iron are separated and recovered in the form of blast-furnace slag, including limestone and the ash component of coke, as auxiliary materials. Blast-furnace slag is produced at a ratio of about 290 kg to one ton of pig iron. In the production process with a converter and an electric furnace, about 110 kg of steel-production slag is produced for every ton of pig iron. In the overall steel industry, about 47 million tons of steel-production slag is produced annually, of which 99% is used as materials for cement or road subbase course materials. (Fig. 2-49)

Fig. 2-49 Usage cycle of materials in the steel industry
## Column

## Recycling of waste wood into material for iron production

Some steelworks use technology that uses waste wood, such as packing wood plates and pallets, as an auxiliary material to adjust the carbon component of steel. This technology recovers iron from oxidized iron, such as iron ore, by means of a reducing reaction with the carbon component of wastes wood and also reuses CO gases produced as a byproduct as fuel. As a result, the process contributes to reducing $ CO_{2} $ emissions during the steel manufacturing process.

Source: Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.

Copper is used as a material for power lines, and copper and copper alloy products such as plates, pipes, and rods, due to its excellent workability and conductivity. In Japan about 1.38 million tons of copper refined by means of electrolysis (copper ingots) was produced in 2004. Copper and copper alloy scrapped after use in products is returned to smelters and copper/copper alloy factories according to the type, quality, and form of the scrap and melted and reused. (Fig. 2-50)

Fig. 2-50 Material flow of copper

Upstream and downstream (final product) data are not consistent with each other because they are taken from different sources and involve various processes, inventories, and yields.

Sources:(a) "Statistics of Steel, Non-ferrous, and Metal Products" by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

(b) The Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Maker's Association

(c) Japan Copper and Brass Association

(d) “The Status of Import of Major Non-ferrous Metals according to Countries and Forms” by METI

(e) Trade of Japan

(f) Estimates by Metal Economics Research Institute, Japan
Aluminum is used in transportation equipment, building structures, and food containers due to its lightness and high strength. Because the process of producing aluminum from ore (bauxite) requires an enormous quantity of electricity in the bauxite smelting phase, little aluminum is produced by that process in Japan. Instead new aluminum ingots imported from overseas and recycled aluminum ingots produced from domestic aluminum scrap are used as aluminum materials. In 2004, about 2.5 million tons of new ingots and about 1.96 million tons of recycled ingots were used. As a result, recycled ingots account for about 40% of total demand. (Fig. 2-51)

Fig. 2-51 The Aluminum industry of Japan (structure and import of material)

## (2) Rare metals and heavy metals

While gold and silver have traditionally been used as ornaments, rare metals such as platinum and indium are used in the fields of cutting-edge technologies. For example, platinum is used as a purification catalyst for automobile exhausts; molybdenum and vanadium are industrial catalysts for oil refineries and the production of petrochemicals; and indium is used in transparent electrodes for liquid-crystal panels. Since heavy metals such as lead and cadmium are harmful when discharged into the environment, it is necessary to ensure their
recovery from discarded home appliances. Japan has technologies to recover and recycle rare metals and heavy metals from waste as an extension of the metal smelting and refining technologies that it has been developing and acquiring for decades. Specifically, non-ferrous metal smelters and refineries take advantage of enhanced smelting and refining technologies to recover and recycle precious metals such as gold and silver and heavy metals such as lead contained in discarded home appliances, platinum contained in automobile catalysts, and indium contained in intra-process scrap in the production of liquid-crystal panels. (Fig. 2-52)

Fig. 2-52 Example of flow of metal recycling in a smelter

Source: DOWA Eco-System Co., Ltd.
# Factory that recovers rare metals and heavy metals from shredding dust

Naoshima Smelter of Mitsubishi Material Source: Homepage of the Prefecture of Kagawa

There are also technologies where shredder dust produced from automobiles and discarded home appliances and copper-containing sludge are incinerated and melted. After melting the burnable pieces and substances as well as chlorine are removed. Water vapor produced in the recycling process is used as energy, at the same time that copper, lead, and zinc are recovered by copper smelting and refining equipment. Metals are also recovered from melted fly ash produced in non-industrial wastes incinerators by means of similar smelting and refining after the fly ash has been washed with water and chlorine and removed.

## Column

## Project for collecting and recovering resources from used mobile phones

In cooperation with the Basel Convention secretariat and the Asian countries of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, Japanese companies have established a network on a trial basis to collect used phone mobiles from those countries and transport them to Japan where their resources are recovered. This is the first project that Japanese private enterprises have launched in cooperation with the Basel Convention secretariat.

The project will first research and evaluate schemes to collect used mobile phones in those countries followed by the implementing of a pilot project for transporting mobile phones to Japan for resource recovery. The project period covers the two years of 2006 and 2007. Depending upon the results, expanding the areas covered and items collected will be considered.
Source: Ministry of the Environment
# Section 3 POLICIES AND MEASURES TO PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT AND INTRODUCTION OF TECHNOLOGIES

Section 2 explained various technologies that support a sound material-cycle society (SMS). The development and introduction of these technologies advanced due to related legal systems and regulations, tax schemes and other economic incentives, and due to independent efforts of enterprises. Section 3 will explain the policies, regulations and the like that promote the development and introduction of technologies supporting a SMS.

## 1 Legal systems

## (1) The Basic Law for Establishing a Sound material - cycle Society

The Basic Law for Establishing the Sound material - cycle Society is a basic legal framework to promote the formation of a SMS. To promote science and technology, it stipulates that the "State shall promote the development of science and technology on the establishment of a SMS, including methods for evaluating the degree of environmental load resulting from the recycling and disposal of recyclable resources, and technologies for restraining products, etc. from becoming wastes, etc. or for appropriate recycling and disposal of recyclable resources." As specific technologies that should be promoted, the law mentions technologies to improve the efficiency of using raw materials when products are made, technologies for the reuse or regeneration of used products, technologies to remove hazardous substances generated with the incineration of waste, and others.

The same law also stipulates that the “State shall take necessary measures, including improvement of research systems, promotion of research and development activities, dissemination of its results, and training of researchers, to promote the development of science and technology on the establishment of sound material-cycle society.”

Furthermore, the Basic Plan for Establishing the Sound material - cycle Society, which was established on the basis of this law, requires the state to promote Sound material - cycle society business. These include, for example: (1) the promotion of a green industry, including improvements in product design and production systems to restrict the generation of waste, etc. in the production process of products or to accelerate the recycling of recovered waste, etc., as well as the development of materials with a low impact on the environment, and (2) the collection, organization and provision of technical information, product information such as lifecycle assessment and other information for the development and dissemination of technology. To achieve this, the plan stipulates that proper measures should be taken with the collaboration of industry, academia and the government. Examples include the establishment of an organization for testing and research, the promotion of R&D in line with the needs of industry and the dissemination of results, the establishment of a system for third-party evaluation of the environmental conservation effect, etc. of environmental technology, the training of researchers and engineers to secure human resources that are highly
2000, Cabinet orders and ministerial ordinances of the waste management and Public Cleansing Law were revised, and the dust and combustion residue, etc. emitted from waste incineration facilities, which are designated facilities, as well as leachate, etc. from final landfill sites became subject to the regulations related to dioxins. As a result, the development and introduction of technology for controlling dioxin emissions also advanced.

Column

## I mplementation status of the Basel Convention

To address the problem of environmental pollution, etc. caused by hazardous waste crossing country borders, the “Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal” came into force in 1992 and was ratified in Japan in 1993. In recent years, the international movement to recycle resources has grown, backed by rising demand for resources due to rapid economic growth in Asian countries, for example. In fiscal 2005, there was no export from Japan to developing countries, but import of nickel-cadmium battery scrap, electronic component scrap, waste fluorescent light bulbs and others was conducted mainly from Asian countries for regeneration, such as recovering the metal or regenerating the glass.

Exports and imports on the basis of the Basel Convention (Fiscal 2005)

Exports from Japan	Imports into Japan
Reports to the partner country	9
(11)	19,980t
(18,822)	Reports to the partner country	25
(16)	9,625t
(9,253)
Export approvals	11
(5)	25,220t
(10,502)	Import approvals	19
(19)	6,844t
(8,562)
Issuance of export movement documents	109
(37)	14,057t
(6,510)	Issuance of import movement documents	77
(71)	3,971t
(4,812)
Partner country	South Korea, Belgium, United States of America, Canada	Partner country	Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, China, South Korea
Articles	Lead scrap, solder scrap, lead ash, lead slag, waste potassium nitrate	Articles	Copper sludge, silver sludge, glass cullets (scrapped Brown tubes), electronic component scrap, nickel-cadmium battery scrap, etc.

Source: Ministry of the Environment

## (6) Law Concerning the Promotion of Procurement of Eco-Friendly Goods and Services

If the demand for recycled products, etc. is secured, this will boost supply and provide an incentive for the development and introduction of recycling-related technology. The purpose of the Law Concerning the Promotion of Procurement of Eco-Friendly Goods and Services by the State and Other Entities (Law on Promoting Green Purchasing) is to aim for a shift in demand by promoting the procurement of eco-friendly goods and services by public sections of the state, etc. and by promoting the provision of information related to eco-friendly goods and services. In line with the “Basic Policy Concerning the Promotion of Procurement of Eco-Friendly Goods and Services” (Basic Policy), the various institutions of the state, etc. publicize their procurement policies and procure according to these policies. The judgment standards for the designated procured goods and services defined in the Basic Policy stipu-
late, for example, that copier paper must have a ratio of pulp from recycled paper of 100% and a whiteness degree of 70% or less, and that uniforms or work wear containing polyester fiber must contain polyester obtained from recycled PET resin (made by regenerating PET bottles or fiber products, etc. as raw material) accounting for at least 10% of the entire product. To make products that satisfy these judgment standards, relevant technologies will be developed and introduced.

## 2 Economic incentives

For the introduction of technology for the proper treatment of waste or the promotion of 3R, there are also economic incentives, including preferential tax treatment or low interest rates. Specifically, the Special Taxation Measures Law, the Local Taxation Law and other laws define preferential measures such as special depreciation or tax exemptions with a predetermined time limit and financing by government-related financial institutions as schemes to support the development of treatment facilities for industrial waste and others. For example, there is preferential tax treatment for the following industrial waste management equipment: high-temperature incineration equipment, smoke and soot treatment equipment, equipment to treat items polluted with PCB, etc., and equipment for detoxification treatment of waste containing asbestos.

Further, there are the following economic measures for the introduction of equipment that contributes to 3R and fulfills certain conditions.

* Low-interest financing by the Development Bank of Japan, the Okinawa Development Finance Corporation, the Japan Finance Corporation for Small and Medium Enterprise and the National Life Finance Corporation

* Special depreciation and reduced fixed asset tax for the introduction of equipment that contributes to 3R

* Interest subsidies, loan guarantees and other support measures if approval according to the “Law on Temporary Measures to Promote Business Activities for the Rational Use of Energy and the Utilization of Recycled Resources” was obtained for the introduction of facilities contributing to 3R, or for the development of technology related to recycling

As regards low-interest financing, the Development Bank of Japan provided financing in 6 cases (2,620 million yen), the Japan Finance Corporation for Small and Medium Enterprise in 73 cases (6,340 million yen), and the National Life Finance Corporation in 106 cases (1,438 million yen) in fiscal 2005.

## 3 Standards

The objective of standardization is, for objects or matters that would become diversified, complicated and chaotic if they remain uncontrolled, to “unify” them on a national basis by establishing “standards” as national-level technical documents in view of the following aspects: securing convenience in economic and social activities (securing compatibility, etc.), improving the efficiency of production (mass production through a reduction in the number of articles, etc.), securing fairness (securing profit for the consumer, simplification of transactions, etc.), promoting technologi-