Where the Ashes Go: The End of Incineration Universalism and the Embryo of a Recycling Society (1997-2000)

Where the Ashes Go: The End of Incineration Universalism and the Embryo of a Recycling Society (1997-2000)
In the late 1990s, waste incinerators became a social problem in Japan as a source of dioxin, and small incinerators came under intense criticism. The Environment Agency and the Ministry of Health and Welfare tightened regulations, and the "Law Concerning Special Measures against Dioxins" of 1999 established strict standards for incineration temperature, residence time, etc. News reports of vegetable contamination in Tokorozawa City and a nationwide movement to remove household incinerators prompted a nationwide shift in awareness, and a shift from a dependence on incineration to a resource-recycling society began. The Containers and Packaging Recycling Law and the Home Appliance Recycling Law were developed, and companies began to rethink waste as a "recyclable resource. The debate over whether small furnaces should be abolished or kept alive through technological improvement was also symbolic of a social dialogue about trust among science, government, and citizens. This per
iod, which marked the end of incineration universalism and the beginning of the movement toward a recycling society, is still remembered today as a turning point in environmental policy.