How does Japan recycle its waste (plastic)?
The fact that plastic is a significant source of ocean pollution. In a recent study from Britain and Australia found that Japan and China were leading countries of origin for the 17 tons of plastic waste that has floated there. That lead us to 2014 data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the municipal recycling rate for Japan was only 21%, below top- ranked Germany at 48%, Sweden at 33% and US came at 26%.
Japan is one of the most successful countries in the world for recycling plastics. In 2010, 77% of plastic waste was recycled, up from 73% in 2006 and 39% in 1996, according to the nation's Plastic Waste Management Institute.
The country has passed several recycling laws to address the disposal and treatment of plastic waste since 1997, when businesses and consumers were obliged to separate plastic waste for the first time.
That measure, along with better awareness off the benefits of separating out plastic, is what has had the impact.
The list of plastic items that can be recycled has grown to include boxes and cases, wrappings, cups and containers, plates and trays, tube-shaped containers, lids and caps. Most is processed together, with plastic bottles and other containers treated separately.The recycled material is used in textiles, sheeting, industrial materials and household items such as egg boxes. Large quantities are shipped to China, Hong Kong and other parts of Asia, where it is used to make toys and games.
New technology is helping raise the PET-bottle recycling rate. The food company Ajinomoto recently unveiled a plastic bottle made entirely from recycled PET. The firm expects to use 4,500 tonnes of recycled PET in its drink bottles every year.
Japan differs from other countries where it tends to use alots of overwrap plastic just because when you buy a bento boxed lunch and it comes in a plastic box with a lid, and then it's put into a plastic bag. Lots of other foodstuffs are the same.There's a tremendous amount of plastic around. The real problem is with household plastic, a lot of which gets burned or buried. The amounts involved are phenomenal according to one of the article of Japan Times Japan needs to address the 27% of plastic waste that is simply incinerated or buried in increasingly scarce landfill sites. That made Japan to be looking at ways to deal with what's left over, but it's difficult to imagine at this stage that to get the recycling rate to 100%. But somehow, Japan have the best recycling proses compared to other countries like US and UK.
Workers sort plastic waste at the Minato Resource Recycle Center in Tokyo (source: The Japan Times)
It gave us understanding that plastic could be recycle in anyways, it all start with how we throw our rubbish away, that is why Japan have the most strict rules for rubbish for households and businesses to separate their trash into burnable items (everything from kitchen scraps to plastic bags, paper and clothing) and nonburnable items (glass, metal, batteries, crockery and electronics) as well as recyclables. Typically, burnable garbage is collected twice a week, nonburnable twice a month and recyclable materials such as PET bottles, glass, newspapers and cardboard once a week; oversized trash and appliances are handled under a separate system.
