Japanology Plus - Waste and Recycling

(gentle instrumental music)

- [Female Narrator] To many foreign
visitors, Japan's streets seem

surprisingly free of litter.

People separate rubbish

into different categories for disposal.

And there's a comprehensive
recycling system.

Japan is a very waste-conscious nation.

(gentle music)

Waste was once a serious problem

but much progress has
been made since then.

This time on Japanology Plus

our theme is waste and recycling.

We look at Japan's
unique recycling culture

and the Japanese
characteristics it reveals.

(gentle upbeat music)

- Hello, and welcome to Japanology Plus.

I'm Peter Barakan.

Today, I'm in a place called Hino

which is one of the
Western suburbs of Tokyo.

And this building behind me here

is a waste disposal facility.

Rubbish collected from homes
is brought here to the center

where it's separated into a
number of different categories.

You'll see plastic bottles
behind me here.

That makes it easier to recycle

and reduce the amount that
actually goes to waste.

It's an issue that's
taken seriously in Japan,

and today, we're going to be looking

at the theme of waste and recycling.

- [Narrator] In Japan,
dividing rubbish is the rule.

The aim is to turn
refuse into resources.

Bins outside shops are used

to dump designated types of rubbish.

In this case, there are
three different bins.

(upbeat music)

More and more shoppers
use reusable shopping bags,

avoiding the need for disposable ones.

(upbeat music)

And clean streets are a
hallmark of life in Japan.

- So no one throws
anything on the ground

even though there are
no trash cans around.

- So I think one of the
things is you actually have

to break down each part of
the bottle, for example,

and in the states you normally
just put the whole bottle

in recycling.

So you don't worry about
the label or the cap.

- It's difficult to find some
trash cans on the streets,

but anyway, the streets
are kept very clean.

I just carry it with me or
put it in my bag or in pockets

and when I get home
my pockets are full

of papers and stuff.

But I mean that's much better

than having trash on the ground.

(speaks foreign language)

- And today I'm going to be talking

to professor Junya Matsunami

who specializes in issues related

to waste management and recycling.

Thank you very much for being
with us on the program today.

- I'm very glad to be here.

(upbeat music)

- [ Narrator] Professor Junya Matsunami

teaches environmental economics.

(upbeat music)

For many years he has
been at the forefront

of official efforts to
reduce waste in Japan.

He believes that tackling
waste can boost the economy

and improve society.

- I remember when I first
came to Japan being astonished

at how clean everything is,

just when you're
walking along the road

or inside trains or wherever it is.

What do you think it is

that makes the Japanese so fastidious?

- The Japanese have always been fond

of tidiness.

And since around the
year 2000, the concept

of a recycling-oriented
society has taken hold.

People have become
more conscious of waste

and they're especially eager
to recycle, carefully sorting

and cleaning their recyclables.

In Japanese culture
people are very conscious

of how they're perceived by others.

Because many people around
them are recycling individuals

feel compelled to do the same.

The Japanese have always been tidy,

but I feel that these days there is

even less waste than before.

- [Narrator] By the mid
19th century, the idea

of making the most of
what was available was

already woven into the culture

of this resourceful island nation.

(instrumental music)

In those days, umbrellas
were made of wood and paper.

Broken ones were not thrown away

but would be taken again and
again to an umbrella repairman,

one of the many
local repairs specialists.

(gentle instrumental music)

For wrapping and carrying parcels

people used cloths called furoshiki.

These patterned fabrics were preferable

to paper which is easily torn.

Furoshiki too were used
until they were threadbare

and then recycled as cleaning rags.

(gentle music)

There were even workers

who gathered roadside litter for reuse.

Paper was especially precious.

Scrap paper was dissolved in water

and remade into toilet paper and so on.

At a time when raw materials

were scarce, an emphasis on reuse

and repair meant that
little waste was generated

in the Japan of centuries past.

(gentle music)

The mid 20th century brought a period

of high speed growth to Japan.

Along with rapid economic
development came a dramatic change

in the traditionally frugal lifestyle.

The term "disposable" came into use

and everyday life became inundated

with more items than ever before.

(upbeat music)

But this material prosperity
brought with it a problem.

The volume of waste soared.

With insufficient land in Central Tokyo

to dispose of it all,

the only choice was to use the trash

for land reclamation in Tokyo Bay.

Inadequate waste disposal led
to water and air pollution.

Incineration produced dioxins.

These were serious
problems in post-war Japan.

Later, efforts were made
made to reduce waste.

Technological breakthroughs
brought dioxin free incinerators

and better recycling.

People's attitudes towards
waste also changed dramatically.

- We've seen how rubbish became

a fairly serious social problem.

How did Japan deal with that in the end?

- In Japan the era of rapid
economic growth gave rise

to a society of mass
production, mass consumption

and mass disposal.

This was a feature of all the
advanced industrial countries

and Japan was no exception.

But limits to Japan's available
land area meant problems

for that pattern as there
was no where to dispose

of so much waste.

There just wasn't anywhere to put it.

So what could be done?

Well, the recycling
seemed to be the solution,

but recycling large
volumes of unsorted waste

was prohibitively costly
and energy-intensive

and the technology
simply didn't exist.

It was impossible.

So there was a change in thinking.

In came a philosophy called the three R's,

reduce, reuse, recycle.

First, minimize the waste
generated at the production

and consumption stages.

That's reduce and reuse.

Failing that, recycle,

and where that isn't possible
things must be disposed

of appropriately.

- I remember going to a lecture once

and the person giving the
lecture was an environmentalist

and he said not three
R's but four R's.

And the first one was refuse.

So you don't buy stuff
in the first place unless

you absolutely need it.

And that seemed to make
a lot of sense as well.

- Yes, some make it the
four R's, including refuse

or add a fifth R for repair.

- [Narrator] The ideals of waste reduction

and recycling set off a revolution
in the Japanese mindset,

but concrete policies were required

to actually achieve waste reduction.

- At first, the trend was to
address it as a moral issue.

That approach featured
environmental education

and awareness-building.

This appeal to the conscience
aimed to reduce waste

and stop illegal dumping.

That was the first stage.

But since then, there has
been a shift in philosophy

to the use of economic incentives.

The idea is to express
the environmental impact

of people's actions in
terms of monetary costs.

So put out rubbish if you want,

but you have to pay the price for it.

At the core it's a moral issue

but moralizing has its limits.

So the shift is to a new
framework in which it costs money

to take an action that
has a negative effect

on the environment

and actions with positive
effects are rewarded.

(gentle music)

- [ Narrator] Here's an approach that has

drastically reduced the amount
of household waste generated.

Compulsory purchase rubbish bags.

The municipality sells
officially marked bags,

and only rubbish placed in
these bags will be collected.

(gentle music)

Refuse collection used to be free.

Once it cost money

there was a dramatic
drop in household waste

and the overall cost of
rubbish disposal also fell.

Some municipalities saw
waste volume fall by 50%

while recycled material soared.

(gentle upbeat music)

To see a typical example of
household rubbish sorting

we'll visit the home of a woman

who lives by herself in Tokyo.

(gentle music)

This is the rubbish sorting
area in her kitchen.

- There are large bags and small ones.

I use them depending on the
amount of rubbish I have.

This is the smallest size.

I want to reduce waste.

So I sort my rubbish
as carefully as I can.

I never end up throwing
large amounts away in one go.

- [Narrator] She sorts plastic
bottles, scrap paper, cans

and other recyclables for
collection as resources.

That minimizes the
amount of waste that goes

into the paid rubbish bags.

- It's a bit of a chore,

that can't be denied,

but I have got into the habit of doing it.

Still, I have to say that it
was a little tiresome at first.

Consciousness of waste as a resource

has spread throughout Japan.

One municipality requires sorting

of rubbish into 34 different categories,

enabling recycling of
around 80% of local waste.

This leaves a mere 20% to be disposed

of by conventional means.

(upbeat music)

Introduced at the turn

of the century, compulsory
purchase bags

have made a big impact.

- Obviously, it used to be that you could

just throw rubbish away in any old bag

and it didn't cost anything.

So wasn't there any
resistance from the residents

when they first brought
in this system?

- There was some initial
resistance from residents

but over the course of
numerous public briefings

a consensus was developed
to implement the system.

Once they understood that landfill space

was running out, people
were finally willing

to accept the change.

Nowadays, paying for rubbish bags

is becoming standard
practice across Japan.

Almost 70% of municipalities charge

for household rubbish collection.

Over two-thirds.

So there are still some places
that do free collection,

but I'm thinking they
will probably switch

over in the next few years.

(air whooshing)

- [Narrator] Now let's take a closer look

at recycling centers.

Around 85% of the plastic bottles used

in Japan are recycled.

(upbeat music)

At home people first remove the caps

and labels which have
separate recycling processes.

Then they rinse the bottles and
put them out for collection.

(gentle upbeat music)

The bottles are collected on set days.

After confirming that no
unwanted materials are mixed

in with the recyclable plastics,

the bottles are compacted into
bundles of a uniform size.

(upbeat music)

The municipality sells
these bundles as a resource.

(upbeat music)

Recycling companies
purchase the bundled bottles

and process them at their own plants.

- We're down by Tokyo
Bay now at a company

that recycles plastic bottles
as you can probably tell

from all the stuff around me here.

- [Narrator] In the course of a year

more than a billion plastic
bottles come to this plant

to be recycled from all around Japan.

(upbeat music)

- Now these stacks of bottles here

to somebody like me these are rubbish,

but you actually buy these, right?

- Yes, I do. These plastic bottles

were made from petroleum.

So petroleum-derived
plastic bottles can be used

as a substitute for virgin petroleum

in making new plastic
materials of various kinds.

- The uniform that I'm
wearing now is actually made

from recycled plastic bottles.

- (speaks foreign language)
Really? Can I just, wow.

It doesn't feel like it does it?

(speaks foreign language)

- You can make all sorts of things

and they're just as good
as petroleum-based items.

- [Narrator] First, the used
plastic bottles are removed

from their bundles.

- [Peter] How much does one
of these packages weigh?

- Between 15 and 18 kilograms in general.

There's a reason for these kinds
of regulations - any heavier

and a worker lifting one might
end up with an injured back.

It's all done in accordance
with Japanese Labor Laws.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] The bottles
undergo a series of processes

to transform them into raw materials.

(upbeat music)

Colored plastic bottles are removed.

If they were mixed in,

the batch would become
tinted, lowering its quality.

(upbeat music)

The batch is thoroughly checked

to ensure that no foreign
matter is included.

(upbeat music)

Then the bottles are shredded
into tiny pieces and cleaned.

After some more processes they come out

as high quality plastic flakes

that can be used as raw material

for a whole range of products.

(upbeat music)

- Here are some products made

from plastic bottles.

- And this school uniform too,

is that made out of
plastic bottles as well?

- Yes, it is.

- [Narrator] A boys' school uniform.

Polyester made from plastic
bottles is just as comfortable

and durable as the material
derived from petroleum.

- These days more and
more uniforms for middle

and high school students all
over Japan are being made

from recycled plastic bottles.

It's definitely a growing trend.

- Wow, things change.
(laughter)

- [Narrator] Other products
include mesh fabric

for trainers, material
for school bags, packaging

for detergent and many other products.

As well as producing raw
materials for these goods.

This company has an even more
efficient recycling method.

- To make maximum use
of petroleum resources,

we developed a way to
remake new plastic bottles

from recycled ones.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] The technology developed

by the company turns
recycled plastic bottles

into new ones without using
a single drop of petroleum.

That represents an
optimally efficient reuse

of plastic bottles.

At present they can make
eight new plastic bottles

from every 10 bottles collected.

- In Japan

there has been a nationwide
push involving public policy

and education of
consumers to remove labels

and caps and wash plastic
bottles to make recycling easier.

The whole nation is right
behind the idea of recycling.

That momentum clearly exists.

And that combined effort is part

of the contribution being made

to the advances we're
seeing in Japan's knowhow.

- Teamwork.

(crowd cheering)

- Hi, I'm Matt Alt,

and today, I'm in Machida, a suburb

of Tokyo, visiting a very
special recycling center.

It's special because they
take large, bulky garbage

that usually can't be recycled

and transform it into products
that can be sold again.

Let's go inside and
check out how it's done.

(upbeat music)

(beeping sound)

- [Narrator] Large items such
as furniture are brought here

along with various other things

no longer needed by households.

(upbeat music)

- Wow, look at all this teamwork

and look at all this stuff.

Everyday, how much of this comes in?

- Today we have a little
more than usual

for this time of year.

Seven two-ton truckloads.

This is a two-ton truck.

And on a more typical
day we might get five

or six truckloads like this.

- How about reupholstering this?

- Yeah, it would look great.

- As you can see we have specialists

in collection and experts
in repair and restoration.

They evaluate the items brought here

and sort them into items
that can be repaired

and items that can't.

They separate them.

- [Matt] I see, I see.

Wow, wow, look at this place.

It's like Santa's workshop.

So tell me, what kind
of work do you do here?

- Well, it's a bit rickety here.

There are scratches inside
the drawers, scratches

on the legs as well.

We'll fix all those.

It's coming unstuck
at the sides here, too.

So we clamp it here
and then we'll fix it.

- I see.

- Here's where we fix musical instruments.

- First, I look at
whether the neck is bent.

If it is, I adjust the
truss rod to fix it.

- And at the very end
are you gonna rock

out on the guitar?

- (laughs) No, no, no.

- This is the fabric area.

- Ah, what is this
beautiful cloth right here?

- This used to be an Obi.

- An Obi? An Obi? For Kimono?

- Yes.

- [Matt] So you've transformed junk

into a totally new product.

- Old obi are often stained or ripped,

but if parts are free from such damage

we can give the fabric new
life in a product like this.

That's what we do.

- Wow, even I wanna use this.

I wanna use this.

Look at this.

Well, this is the shop.

Ah, and here we are.

Wow!

Whoa, look at all this.

But look at this, I mean
the finish is just perfect

on these.

It's all...

Wow, this is really nice.

Come here, check this out.

I wanna get one of these for
my collection of robot toys.

Wait for it.

Not bad for just,

wow 7,000 yen!
7,000 yen.

That's like 60 bucks U.S. dollars.

What on earth Is this?

Is this a meteor?

What is this?

I can't tell if this is a meteor

or a monster or giant soccer ball or...

It's huge.

- [Narrator] Apparently,
it's a ceramic artwork

that had been thrown away.

- This is great, come here, come here.

This is great.

Now this is something you won't see

in an American secondhand shop.

Traditional Japanese dolls

and helmets and geisha.

(playful music)

Well, I have to say I was
surprised at the prices.

- The primary objective here is not

to make money on sales; it's
to reduce waste through reuse

and recycling.

That's the key point.

We want the public to be more
conscious of this situation.

We want them to be aware that
they're throwing away so many

things that could still be used.

Hopefully, people will
take away the message

to cherish things they already own.

That's ultimately what we're trying

to get across through
our activities here.

- Now in Japan there's
an old folklore tradition

that the things we use

and throw out can
sometimes come back

as monsters to haunt us.

But here's a place where they've taken

the things we've thrown out

and turned them into
little treasures instead.

Pretty cool, huh?

Next time you're in the area

why don't you drop by and check it out.

Just don't forget your wallet.

See you next time.

(air whooshing)

- [Narrator] Rubbish from Central Tokyo

has long been disposed of in
reclamation sites in Tokyo Bay.

Land reclamation using
waste as landfill began

in the Bay around 100 years ago.

But the need to keep shipping channels

and so on, limits the
area that can be filled.

The current site is the last one.

And even that is rapidly filling up.

This site has been carefully designed

to prevent contamination
from leaks into the sea.

The volume of waste
sent here has decreased

to 1/7th compared to the
era of rapid growth.

Even so, that amounts
to some 500,000 tons

of incinerator ash and
non-burnable rubbish

to bury each year.

- And, are we actually standing on top

of a mountain of rubbish?

- That's correct, we are
standing on a mountain

of waste in a landfill site.

- And presumably... I can
see cranes over there now.

Are they emptying more
garbage into that area now?

- That area is mainly
being filled with ash

from incinerated household
waste from Central Tokyo.

Yes, that's happening right now.

- How much longer do you envisage

this site being able to be used?

- Although the volume

of rubbish has diminished a great deal,

if it remains constant in the future,

we only have enough capacity
for 50 to 60 more years.

No more of Tokyo's coastal area

can be allocated for reclamation.

So every effort is being
made to reduce waste

in order to prolong the use of this site.

- [Narrator] Is there any
hope of a long-term solution?

When this site is full,
there will be nowhere left

to go for the masses of waste
generated by the metropolis.

- And Japan, as we've heard today,

is actually in a much
better state regarding waste

and recycling than a
lot of other countries.

This is a global problem
for the human race.

- The pattern of growth in
advanced industrial countries

has always entailed the creation of waste,

but now we've hit a wall

because of all the environmental problems

that pattern causes.

The planet cannot sustain
progress along similar lines

in developing countries.

It just has to be avoided.

So we must eliminate as
much waste as possible.

And I think ultimately the need is

for economic growth with zero waste.

That has to be the target.

- Is that possible?

- I believe it is possible

because even though I'm
using the word waste,

I do not believe that such
a thing as waste exists.

Rubbish properly sorted is a
resource; unsorted, it is waste.

Everything can be recycled if it's sorted.

We're starting to see that
understanding reflected

in waste policies in Japan.

I believe it's only a matter of time

before we achieve zero waste.

- One thing that impressed me today

was back at the plastic
bottle recycling factory.

They were talking about how,

what makes the process go
so smoothly is the fact

that consumers take the
labels off the bottles,

they rinse them out and then
put them out for recycling.

And the whole thing is a
big kind of group effort.

Despite the fact I've been
living so long in Japan,

there's some aspects of the
group mentality of this country

that still don't sit
with me completely right.

But listening to that
explanation earlier today

redrives home that there's
a plus factor there as well.

And I think with this problem
of waste and recycling,

there's probably a lot that people

in other countries could learn

from the Japanese mentality as well.

And with that I shall bid you
goodbye from the wasteland.

See you next time.

(gentle instrumental music)

- [Narrator] Next time our
theme is "Period Dramas".

What did these dramas
featuring samurai warriors mean

to the people of Japan?

We seek out their unique appeal.