Environmental Warfare in Local Cities: A Record of Cycles and Challenges (1997-2022)

Environmental Warfare in Local Cities: A Record of Cycles and Challenges (1997-2022)

Kitakyushu City was certified as an "Eco-Town Project" in 1997, and is promoting a shift to a resource-recycling city. At the "Kitakyushu Eco-Plaza" in Wakamatsu Ward, 12,000 tons of waste plastic are turned into fuel annually, and waste oil and tires are also reused. In addition, with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 70% by 2050, solar panels are being installed and biomass boilers are being used to improve energy efficiency. Furthermore, it has been reported that Jakarta, Indonesia has made progress in recycling 20,000 tons of waste per year and has improved the city's energy self-sufficiency rate by 5%. Minamata City in Kumamoto Prefecture has also been designated as an environmental model city and is actively promoting efforts to improve water quality and reforestation.

As an example of an environmental problem in a local city, soil and groundwater pollution caused by illegal dumping of industrial waste has become an issue on the Aomori/Iwate border. Waste oil, lead, and cadmium leaking from oil drums are affecting the environment, and long-term cleanup is required. In addition, in 1994, Kansai Electric Power Co. and Kobe Steel Ltd. disposed of 500,000 tons of coal ash annually in the Yodogawa River system in Osaka Prefecture and the Kakogawa River system in Hyogo Prefecture without proper treatment, resulting in water pollution due to accumulation of cadmium and lead. This has also had an economic impact, reducing fishing income by approximately 20%.

Aging waste treatment facilities in local cities are also a serious problem. The risk of dioxin emissions and annual operating costs of 12 billion yen are a major burden at Sapporo's waste treatment plant. Meanwhile, Niigata City has set a recycling rate target of 50% and is working with local companies to realize a resource-recycling society. In Tsukuba City, the introduction of a sorting education program has improved the sorting and collection rate by 10% and is raising citizens' awareness. Hiroshima City is planning to introduce a high-efficiency gasification and melting furnace in 2022 to improve power generation efficiency by more than 20% and increase the efficiency of energy use.

In the relationship between local general contractors and environmental businesses, Toyama Kankyo Kaihatsu in Toyama Prefecture is promoting the recycling of waste materials, and Bioclasics Handa in Aichi Prefecture is promoting a biomass industrial city concept to realize local production for local consumption of energy. Efforts to support the creation of sustainable cities are underway in various regions, such as Kato Construction in Aichi Prefecture developing river and coastal erosion prevention technology, and Suyama Construction in Shizuoka Prefecture utilizing environmentally friendly construction technology.

Wide-area waste disposal is also being promoted, with Aomori Prefecture formulating a "Basic Concept for Wide-Area Waste Disposal" in 1998 to promote the integration and wide-area expansion of incineration facilities. On the other hand, in areas where industrial waste treatment facilities are densely located, such as the coastal area of Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, a phenomenon known as "industrial waste Ginza" is occurring, where waste treatment, environmental problems, and the local economy are intricately intertwined.

As for local environmental conservation activities, Okayama City is promoting the "Familiar Creatures' Village Project," and environmental conservation activities tailored to local characteristics are being conducted in cooperation with citizen groups. In the Hisaya district of Matsuyama City, a satoyama conservation project was initiated in 2001, and as a result of the planting of a cumulative total of over 200,000 trees, water quality in the Ishide River has improved and fireflies have returned. In this way, environmental measures tailored to local characteristics are being promoted in regional cities, and efforts to harmonize the city and nature are being developed in many areas.