Reduce / Reuse / Recycle

March 15, 2006

 

Ministry Releases Japanese Waste Statistics for FY2003

Keywords: Government Reduce / Reuse / Recycle 

Japan's non-industrial waste (garbage and human waste) volume in fiscal 2003 totaled 51.61 million tons, almost unchanged from the previous year, according to the results of a survey released by the Ministry of the Environment on November 4, 2005. This total amounted to 1,106 grams per capita per day.

The volume of waste recycled reached 9.16 million tons, a 6.0 percent increase from the previous year, and the recycling rate was 16.8 percent, a 0.9 percentage point increase. The amount of final disposal (to landfills) decreased to 8.45 million tons, down 6.4 percent from the previous year. The trends of increases and decreases were unchanged for the tenth straight year. Although the combined capacity of landfill sites was diminishing, their remaining lifespan rose slightly to 13.2 years from 13.1 years in the previous year, thanks to the continuing decline in waste going to the landfill.

The number of incineration plants was 1,396, down by 94 from the previous year due to the consolidation of existing plants. Those that can also generate electricity while incinerating waste increased to 271 from 263 in the previous year, boosting their total generation capacity to 1,441,000 kilowatts, up 5.6 percent.

The total costs for non-industrial waste disposal began to increase in fiscal 2000 because of plant construction and improvements as countermeasures to deal with dioxins. But costs turned downward in fiscal 2002, with the trend continuing into fiscal 2003 when the total costs decreased from the previous year by 435.6 billion yen (about U.S.$3.72 billion) to 1.96 trillion yen (about U.S.$16.7 billion). Waste disposal costs per capita amounted to 15,400 yen (about U.S.$132).

- Japan's General Waste Volume in 2001 Remains Unchanged (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/647-e
- Volumes of Waste in Japan Decreased Slightly in FY 2002 (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/1075-e

Posted: 2006/03/15 10:10:59 AM
Japanese version

 

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