Table 4-1 Sound material-recycle society business: market scale in Japan

Supply of machinery, equipment and plants	Supply of services	Supply of materials, final consumer goods
Business examples	·Intermediate treatment plants
·Melting equipment
·RDF manufacturing/using facilities
·Oil manufacturing facilities from plastics
·Composting equipment from kitchen waste
·Plant construction
·Construction of final disposal sites	·Waste treatment
·Resource recovery
·Recycling	·Reclaimed oil from plastics
·PET-recycled fiber
·Products made of timber from forest thinning
·Recycled products (e.g. scrap metals)
·Products made from reclaimed items (e.g. recycled paper)
·Refillable products
·Repairs of machinery, furniture
·Housing improvement, repairs	Total
Market and employment scale	·Manufacture of equipment and materials for preventing pollution (waste-related)
·Construction and installation of machinery and equipment (waste-related)	·Supply of services (waste-related)	·Recycled materials
·Repairs
2000	806.5 billion yen	2753.6 billion yen	26025.4 billion yen	29585.5 billion yen
2007	456.2 billion yen	3007.7 billion yen	34600.5 billion yen	38064.4 billion yen
2000	1,872 people	195,292 people	331,513 people	528,677 people
2007	8,275 people	130,392 people	511,736 people	650,403 people

Source: Ministry of the Environment

### C. Efforts toward the establishment of regional resource recycling

In order to establish a "regional resource recycling zone" which is optimum size for the characteristics of the recyclable resources and the regional character, the consideration toward the formulation of regional plans at regional block level has been advanced. Particularly, centered on each Regional Environment Office, the bodies surveyed for formulating regional plans in concert with each other in Chubu, Kinki and Kyushu blocks.

Also, projects for fostering so-called regional community businesses have been carried out.

## (3) Utilization of economic instruments

As for waste problems generated by the day-to-day activities of large numbers of people, there are certain limits to the results that can be achieved through the existing regulatory measures, which are centered on the regulation of large-scale sources and certain activities. Therefore, to cope with the problem, it is necessary to combine various policy instruments such as regulatory, economic and voluntary approaches, and implement their appropriate utilization.

Responding to the establishment of a discretionary tax system for specific purposes by the Omnibus Decentralization Act enforced in April 2000, from the viewpoint of respecting tax autonomy, many of the local governments are making moves toward the introduction of waste taxes.

According to a Ministry of the Environment survey, as of April 2009, ordinances concerning local discretionary taxes for specific purposes related to industrial wastes are enacted in 27 prefectures out of 47 (Mie, Tottori, Okayama, Hiroshima, Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Shiga, Nara, Yamaguchi, Niigata, Miyagi, Kyoto, Shimane, Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Oita, Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Fukushima, Aichi, Okinawa, Hokkaido, Yamagata, Ehime) and in one ordinance-designated city out of 60 (Kitakyushu).

In addition, a method utilizing the market mechanism to encourage concerned parties to voluntarily deal with 3Rs has been examined. In fiscal 2009, in order to link great awareness of consumers and citizens on 3Rs with concrete activities, the current situation and issues of 3Rs promotion method using a point system were organized.

(4) Promotion of education and learning, enhancement of public relations activities, support for civil activities, and human resources development

“Community Support Projects toward the Realization of a Sound Material-Cycle Society” were implemented by first collecting ideas from the public for efforts toward the realization of a Sound Material-Cycle Society centering on the 3Rs. Such projects would be carried out through the cooperation of each body including civil groups such as NGOs and NPOs, business operators and local governments.; the projects should be pioneering, ingenious, and at the same time, generally applicable to other areas.

In order to constantly keep younger generations using Internet informed, a Web magazine, "Re-Style" (www.re-style.jp for PC and www.re-style.jp/k for cell phone) has been issued to post the latest data and report on the establishment of a Sound Material-Cycle Society, inform the Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society, put out the information on various activities toward a Sound Material-Cycle Society and promote activities of the public, private organizations, businesses, etc.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry implemented projects such as the lending of “Let’s Go, 3Rs”, a DVD for heightening awareness aimed at people of all ages, in order to promote the ordinary citizen’s active and voluntary participation in 3Rs activity in an easy-to-understand manner. Also, along with installing or lending learning materials for 3Rs education such as container and package recycling materials to local learning bases, local energy-saving reuse promotion projects were implemented with the cooperation of local business operators and consumers.

Also, projects such as the holding of the Japan Environmental Learning Fair and lectures for teachers in charge of environmental education, implementation of research regarding the future direction of new environmental education, and the designation of model schools for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment program (GLOBE) has been carried out, with the aim to promote environmental education in schools.

On top of this, the holding of basic courses for training environmental education leaders, program development for promoting environmental education and the development