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The `Zero Waste' project: Town turns recycling into way of life By KENICHI ARITA The Asahi Shimbun KAMIKATSU, Tokushima Prefecture-Waste not, Want Not.
It might be the motto of this small mountain town in What household garbage town residents don't turn into
compost, they carry themselves to a collection facility, separating
out the reusable and recyclable items. The town's goal is to eliminate
waste by 2020. This no-waste movement dates back to 2001, when a garbage incinerator
built in the town in 1998 failed to meet dioxin control standards.
Then Mayor Yoshio Yamada decided to shut down the incinerator in the
interest of preventing further environmental pollution.
Eventually this led to the ``Zero Waste project,'' which was
announced at a town assemblymeeting
this September. In Kamikatsu, waste is sorted into 34 categories, such
as aluminum cans, PET bottles, diapers, newspapers and leaflets,
and batteries. In fiscal 2002, as much as 79 percent of the town's garbage
was recycled. In fiscal 2000, the national average for municipalities
was about 14 percent. ``Kamikatsu definitely is one of the top (recycling)
municipalities,'' said
an official of the Environment Ministry's Waste Management Division. Also impressed by Kamikatsu's recycling efforts was Paul
Connett, a chemistry professor from St. Lawrence University
in Connett, who specializes in environmental chemistry,
lectures worldwide on the subject of incinerator-free communities.
He advised town officials to set 2020 as the target year to achieve
their goal, emulating cities such as Since it announced its intention to eliminate waste in
March 2001, the town has worked tirelessly to improve the environment.
In that spirit, following the advice of Connett, Mayor Kazuichi Kasamatsu
submitted a proposal to the town assembly in September, suggesting
the council set a target year to achieve its goal. Unanimously approved,
the proposal states, ``The town promotes reusable and recyclable waste
and will do all it can to eliminate incineration and landfill by 2020.'' Surrounded by mountains as high as 1,500 meters, Kamikatsu,
with a population of only about 2,000, is an hour's drive from The town hires residents to work at the 120-square-meter
prefab facility to instruct others how to separate their trash. More than 10 containers placed outside the facility and
bins inside the center bear labels with the words ``aluminum cans''
and ``transparent bottles'' and the like. The labels also indicate what the waste materials are
recycled into, such as ``construction materials'' and ``raw materials
for glass.'' ``I separate my trash at home. If it's reused properly,
I'm motivated to follow the town's rule,'' said Kimiyo Imoto, a 57-year-old
homemaker. With the exception of large items and tires, the facility
accepts 29 types of garbage every day. The town also offers subsidies
to most households to purchase a device to turn kitchen scraps into
compost. ``In Kamikatsu's combustible waste is taken to another prefecture
and disposed of there. The town cut the overall amount of combustible
waste it produced to about 61 tons in fiscal 2002, from about 136
tons in fiscal 1998. Meanwhile, over the same period, disposal costs
have surged to 292 yen per kilogram from 56 yen. However, town officials are still discussing what to
do with waste that is hard to recycle, like old leather shoes. But
they have an idea. ``The key is not only to separate materials when
disposing of them but also to select reusable items when purchasing,''
Mayor Kasamatsu said. According to one town official, ``The answer may lie
in the hands of the manufacturers that produce the goods.'' Town officials offered the example of cylinder-shaped
packages made of metal and paper, like those used for potato chips.
The paper is difficult to reuse because it is glued together and reinforced.
And it's hard to separate the metal bottom from the rest of the container.
Although the container is basically made of reusable materials, it
gets tossed out as combustible waste. Officials will likely ask the central and prefectural
governments to enforce laws or ordinances prohibiting companies from
making goods that cannot be reused or recycled. ``Recycling won't happen without manufacturer cooperation,''
Kasamatsu said.(IHT/Asahi:
December 16,2003) (12/16) |
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