The Star, Malaysia : Japan produces record amount of garbage

Friday, January 24, 2003

Japan produces record amount of garbage

TOKYO (AP) - Japanese households and businesses produced a record amount of garbage in fiscal 2000, according to a government report issued Friday.

The country generated 52.36 million tons of rubbish, up 910,000 tons, or 1.77 percent, from the previous year, the Environment Ministry said in the report.

That averaged out to the typical Japanese throwing out a record 1.132 kilograms (2.50 pounds) of solid waste a day, a little more than what the average American puts out and on par with the green-minded Germans, according to estimates from environmental groups.

Households were responsible for two-thirds of the total with 34.37 million tons, while businesses put out 17.99 million tons that year.

Industrial waste was calculated separately. It rose by 6 million tons, or 1.5 percent, to 406 million tons in fiscal 2000 - still below its record output of 426 million tons in 1996.

On the bright side, recycling has picked up with the volume of garbage ending up at the country's landfills and incinerators down by 360,000 tons, or 3.5 percent, to 10.51 million tons.

Disposal sites are hard to find in densely populated Japan. To save room, Japan burns most of its trash - about 75 percent compared to about 20 percent in the United States and Germany.

But illegal dumping has been proliferating in recent years, with authorities cracking down on entrepreneurs secretly shipping toxic waste overseas.

The ministry said it is aiming to boost recycling efforts to cut in half the amount of trash ending up in landfills and incinerators within 10 years. - AP