Japan

   As one of the major economies in the world, Japan has made various strides towards improving the lives of its population. The nation consists of four major islands, as well as thousands of other smaller ones. Despite the immense growth in its economy, various environmental issues in Japan still give this nation a headache.

   In recent years, Japan has made significant steps towards a cleaner and habitable environment.

   However, due to the growth in industrial, business, and agricultural activities, the country still experiences environmental issues that require urgent attention.

   One of the most prevalent environmental challenges in Japan is waste and its disposal. For example, Japan destroys almost 2/3 of its waste using industrial or municipal incinerators. This burning of waste materials has significantly raised the amounts of dioxin in the country’s atmosphere.

   The trash levels which the modern lifestyle in japan has brought, poses a big threat to the environment and by burning the waste, brings more problems. These massive waste amounts bring various challenges, including grave scarcity of landfill sites, as well as the increase in incidences of illegal dumping of waste material.

   Also, the small size of the country, as compared to the waste materials released every day, means that Japan has no enough space to accommodate such levels of waste.

   The result of this is to burn the waste through incinerators which, on the other hand, add more dioxin into the atmosphere. Some studies suggest that Japan has the highest levels of dioxin, higher than any level in other G20 nations.

   In fact, the Department of Justice in the US, tabled a suit in 2001 against Japan, due to the deaths of American service members. The deaths were believed to have been caused by a waste incinerator in Atsugi, called the Jinkanpo Atsugi Incinerator.

   But How Does Japan Handle This Menace?

To be able to accommodate all these wastes, and in an environmentally friendly way, Japan has set up firmer regulations in waste management. These laws and regulations by the government of Japan, has made Japan residents become more creative in the way they get rid of their waste.

   One good example of these creative ways is the one adopted by a small town in Japan called Kamikatsu. This town of around 1,500 people, set up a common goal, to reach zero waste production by 2020. Again, since the nearest incinerator they can access is far and costly, the people had to find a new way.

   Therefore, they have come up with a systematic technique that helps them recycle about 80% of the waste they produce. For instance, there is one man at the city’s center who makes use of a hammer to break down large materials to smaller parts for future use.

   Some of the material he breaks done include things like toilets, whereby he also separates the porcelain and plastic, as well as rubber and metal. They then filter these materials into 45 separate categories for recycling at the city’s plant.