Carving a New Cycle in Kagoshima's Soil: Birth of a Complete Recycling Facility for Construction Waste (1994)

Carving a New Cycle in Kagoshima's Soil: Birth of a Complete Recycling Facility for Construction Waste (1994)

In the early 1990s, municipalities across Japan were faced with a growing waste problem, and in particular, the increase in construction waste and illegal dumping were emerging as a social issue. Kagoshima Prefecture was no exception, with an increase in the number of public works projects and land development projects, which generated a large amount of various waste materials, such as wood waste, concrete chips, and asphalt. Against this backdrop, the Kagoshima Recycle Business Cooperative began construction of a facility to completely recycle construction waste materials, which was an advanced approach in Japan at the time.

Behind this was a shift in government policy that strongly encouraged recycling, such as the 1991 Law for the Promotion of Utilization of Recycled Resources and the 1973 revision of the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Law. In the past, construction waste materials were mainly simply crushed and landfilled, and the recycling rate was low. In particular, mixed wood and concrete waste was difficult to process, and sorting was not promoted in rural areas due to cost considerations. The cooperative's facility integrates crushing, magnetic separation, and specific gravity sorting, and is equipped with an advanced line for recycling wood chips, recycled crushed stone, metals, sand, and other materials, aiming to recycle all waste materials.

Kagoshima Prefecture's topographical features meant that there was a lot of landfill construction, and final disposal sites were under severe pressure, so the shift to a recycling-oriented society was an urgent issue. In addition, in the early 1990s, illegal dumping of construction waste became a problem in the prefecture, and the establishment of a joint processing facility was also important to ensure a reliable disposal route. In addition, the growing demand for recycled crushed stone, the use of wood chips in livestock production, and other factors that helped to create a recycling market suited to the characteristics of the region also contributed to the realization of complete recycling.

The start of construction of this facility was not merely the construction of a waste treatment facility, but a symbolic step in Kagoshima Prefecture's transition from a high-growth mass-waste society to a recycling-oriented society. It was an inevitable project that resulted from the intersection of land conditions, industrial structure, policy trends, and social issues, and was a pioneering regional model for returning construction waste to resources.