Japan's material balance 2001.07.20 (1)

According to "Japan's material balance" summarized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and environment, approximately 90% of the total material input in this country is natural resources (imports of crude oil, food, etc., about 700 million tons, and the domestic collection of 1.1 billion tons). About 40% of the energy consumption, about 400 million tons of food consumption, about 1 billion tons of industrial waste, and about 300 million tons, and general waste. 100 million tons). It is said that the entire 10% (about 200 million tons) are recycled and reused. By the way, 100 million tons of industrial wastes are recycled, and the remaining years of the final disposal site of the discontinued waste are still 1. Decline in six years. In order to break away from such mass consumption and mass-waste society, with the Ministry of Land and Infrastructure, the National Council on Land Development plans to formulate a new grand design, a country-wide plan to replace the current nationwide development plan (total), is under consideration of the "land formation of the circulation type and the environment symbiosis type".

It is important to recycle wastes and reuse them in the search for "land and regions with low environmental impact". However, it has various problems even if it is merely recycling. For example, compared to Virgin materials, the recycling material is high in price, the market is not formed as a valuable thing, and the problem of the environmental impact in the process of recycling. Therefore, the demand for recycled materials is low, and the cost of recycling flows toward lower costs. It is used as a fuel aid for the "gasification melting Furnace" which is the final means of recycling, and the blast furnace reducing agent of steel, and it melts waste at super high temperature. Many resources are depleted in the 21st century. When you think about it, it is important to recognize that waste is a resource, and how is the concept of easy recycling by cost and so on? The idea of mass production and mass recycling is in the background. Without the conversion of "optimal production, consumption, and minimum disposal" without the consumption of natural resources, the 21st century would be unsustainable.