Recycling in Japan

Waste reduction has been successfully achieved in progressive parts of the world, particularly in some countries in Europe. Garbage sorting in homes, curbside collection schemes, depositing segregated rubbish at depots, the four-bin culture (paper, plastic, aluminum, other), recycling, composting…...these have become so much ‘the done thing’, that they may be considered old hat. Bigger, more stringent measures are now being taken to further cut waste by placing the responsibility of waste reduction and recycling on the producers themselves.

On January 1, 1999, a law came into force in the Netherlands mandating the recovery of all large home appliances. The Netherlands thus became the first European Union member state to legally institute an industry-wide product recovery programme. This has forced home electronics manufacturers, importers and retailers to come together to establish take-back initiatives for home appliances. Then again, in February 2000, the European Parliament backed draft legislation to force car makers to bear the full cost of recycling old cars in the 15-nation European Union – setting the trend for similar measures concerning other durable consumer goods such as refrigerators and TVs. It is part of a drive to keep hazardous waste materials out of European landfills.

And what about the electronics leader, Japan? The country is reputed to recycle 50 % of its municipal waste - the largest amount by any one country in the world. Nobuyuki Watanabe, corporate senior vice president, Sony Corporation, Tokyo, was in Dubai last month for the presentation ceremony of the Sony Gulf Environment Award – 2000. Watanabe is chairman, Sony environmental conservation committee, worldwide. Friday talked to him about Japan’s new product recycling law and how Sony is responding to it.

Effective April 2001, the recycling of all television sets, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners in Japan will be the responsibility of the respective manufacturers. And the recycling cost will be borne by consumers. Won’t that make the products more expensive? Sure it will. “But,” explains Watanabe, “People don’t understand that they are already paying government taxes for the municipality to collect and dispose waste. And that cost is roughly double the recycling cost. So if you look at the nation on the whole, it will not only be cheaper by half but more importantly, over 50 % of the product will be recovered for recycling instead of being disposed in the landfill.”

Right now, 55 % of each television by weight has to be retrieved. The recovery percentage will increase over time, which means in another five years time we can expect about 80 - 90 % of the product material to be recycled. As far as packaging is concerned, retailers will take it back to be handed over to garbage collectors and then to recyclers. In fact packaging material recycling will become mandatory from next month itself.

Manufacturers have come together in a common manufacturing association that will organise all kinds of recycling activities for which 150 locations have been designated in Japan. Research is on full swing to make products easier to disassemble, simpler to recycle, using cleaner materials and to refine recycling technologies. Each manufacturer is, of course concentrating on its own products, as Sony is on TVs. Sony already has a research laboratory right next to its TV factory, but a larger recycling factory for research purposes will be commissioned later this year. Already research has yielded some terrific products and processes.

“Limonene,” a citrus fruit peel extract, is used for styrene foam recycling. A lithium ion battery can now be decomposed and recycled. Old video cassette shells can be transformed into a water-soluble polymer that can clean waste water. TV sets can be dismantled and its picture tubes (called cathode ray tubes - CRTs) removed and recycled in an automated operation.

It is anticipated that the Japan government will, after the present group of consumer goods, target personal computers recovery and recycling, followed by music systems and home videos. “Recycling is not difficult for a manufacturer,” explains Watanabe. “It is collection of post-consumer waste that is both costly and difficult. Also, it is possible to achieve almost complete recycling of goods but one must take into account the larger environmental impact of the process itself. Recycling, after all, consumes a lot of energy and water. Unless energy and water efficient technologies for recycling are developed, 100 % recycling will prove too expensive for our natural resources.” Cutting consumption is the answer. Watanabe, who finds working 100 % for the environment more rewarding with each passing day, believes, “More is better. Enough is the best!”

Earth Diary If there is one thing that elicits a strong reaction particularly from many urban ladies in India, it is plastic bags. Understandably so. The over use, reuse and generous littering of plastic bags is becoming a health and environmental hazard. While on holiday in India last December, I encountered various responses to these “bags of trouble.” From Bombay through Delhi and Dehra Dun back to Dubai, I recount a saga of plastic bags. Bombay, India In a small grocery store I observe a young lady carrying a jute shopping bag with an exquisite ethnic design. In the centre is a simple message – “Let the earth breathe. Say no to plastic bags.” I admire her bag and she tells me that a lot of people ask her where she got it. “I hope that I can influence them,” she says as she insists that the grocer wrap her purchases of chilled drink bottles and ice cream pack in newspaper before packing these in her most attractive shopping bag. You couldn’t find a more eco-conscious housewife than the lady who plays host to me in Bombay. I can’t find one plastic bag in her house. I have to use the Dubai Duty Free shopping bags that I brought with me to pack some damp clothing in when I leave. I notice the little things that my hostess is particular about as she keeps house. Like, while ordering eats on the phone, requesting that these be sent in stainless steel containers, returnable of course. But if that’s not possible, then emptying home-delivered eatables and sending back the plastic containers with strict instructions that these be reused, not dumped. There are some standard fixtures in her kitchen – two bins, one for compostable vegetable scrap and the other for dry waste; and, there is always a little bowl next to the sink where all leftover food waste from dishes is kept. This will be fed to stray cats and dogs. She buys only local products, plants only native plants and nourishes these with compost. Right now she is on the look out for some way she can selectively drain her kitchen sink water (like after washing vegetables) into a garden tank for irrigation. New Delhi, India I notice a Department of Environment advertisement in the Times of India. It has a young boy looking at you earnestly in the face as he says, “I said no to crackers. It’s time you said no to plastic bags. This Diwali I made a special effort to keep pollution levels low. You too can do something equally thoughtful for me. Stop using plastic bags. Not only do plastic bags harm the environment but are also a health hazard. The pigments used for colouring plastic bags contain harmful chemical dyes. Which leads to food contamination, kidney failure and bone abnormality, specially in children. As a parent, the least you can do is ensure a happy and healthy future for me. Why not start today? Say “NO” to plastic bags, “Yes” to cloth, jute and paper bags.” It’s the start of the ad that gets me. What? No Diwali fireworks? I check with parents. It’s true. Last year, some non-governmental organisations, among them a Delhi-based one called Nature Soule, led such an effective no-fireworks campaign targeting school children that they, the largest buyers of fireworks, said “no thanks” – even when parents tried to indulge them. The campaign was for two reasons: maintaining a pollution-free environment and helping rehabilitate children working in firework units. It was a resounding success. Judging from what parents tell me about how seriously children took an anti-crackers stand, it seems the no-plastic bag campaign by them may work just as well. Dehra Dun, India The huge quantity of plastic bags being used in this pleasant valley town is positively depressing. So when I hear of a neighbourhood school where village women get together in the evenings to make handicrafts, among which are colourful floor mats woven out of used plastic bags, I can’t help but see for myself. They are collecting bags, cleaning them, cutting them into strips and weaving these into mats using a handloom. Unfortunately they had finished work for the day when I visited Salangaon, in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayas, but the mats were available on sale and I was happy to buy one. I hear that women in Dehra Dun have recently formed a committee to tackle the vexing problem of plastic bags. Dubai, UAE Many people lament the excessive use of plastics, especially carrier bags. But I have rarely seen anyone using his or her own shopping bag. I have just returned from vacation and am in the supermarket when Om Prakash, who often packs my purchases in the EEG bag that I carry tells me that he has come across just one other individual who uses her own bag. I tell him that I want to meet her and so he puts me in touch with Sulabha Oak. Sulabha uses not just an ordinary sling bag; she uses a proper shopping strolly - “I used to find a bulk shopping bag quite useless. I had been looking for this kind of bag with different compartments, including for chilled goods, for a long time. Finally my husband got it for me from Paris,” she tells me when we shop together. Now that is being genuinely enviro-friendly! Most people would baulk at the price of Dh.800 paid for a shopping strolly, but not if one believes in the environmental cause. Before she got the bag, Sulabha would reuse the plastic shopping bags. “I had to hear comments like ‘have you washed the bag that you have brought with you? Our plastic bags are just as clean!’ ” she laughs. Fortunately for Sulabha, her husband is just as caring about the environment and so is extremely supportive. How many would lug a shopping bag all the way from Paris and pay that kind of price for it? Sulabha shops when the supermarket is less crowded so that Om Prakash can take the time to pack her goods in. “They have got used to my strolly now, and are quite co-operative,” she says. Most of us think the little bit I use or pollute is not enough to matter. Sulabha Oak is certainly not one of them. She does what she can do. And it’s not only minimising plastic bag use. She thinks conservation when she is running her home.