Waste Incineration Facility Issues - October 2000

Waste Incineration Facility Issues - October 2000

Oita Prefecture's wide-area waste management plan calls for the construction of a waste incineration facility, with particular attention being paid to the establishment of the Sano Garbage Disposal Center. The facility is scheduled to start operation in 2003 and is designed with a capacity to incinerate 3.87 million tons of waste per day. The total project cost amounts to 21.8 billion yen, and the design and construction will be handled by Takuma Corporation, a major player in cleaning equipment. On the technical side, state-of-the-art exhaust gas treatment equipment will be installed to significantly reduce emissions of dioxins and soot generated by the incineration process. In addition, efforts are being made to recycle incinerator ash, and the production of building materials using incinerator ash is being considered.

The facility will be located in Oita City, and will serve to collect and process waste from throughout Oita Prefecture over a wide area. However, with the construction of the facility, residents in the area have raised concerns about air pollution and health hazards, with particular emphasis on their concerns about dioxin emissions. In response, Oita Prefecture is making efforts to build a relationship of trust with the local community by holding explanatory meetings for residents to explain in detail the safety of the facility and its impact on the environment.

In addition, new burner technology will be introduced to improve the combustion efficiency of the incineration facility, which is expected to enable complete combustion of the waste and significantly reduce emissions of hazardous substances. This project is attracting attention from within and outside the prefecture as one solution to the waste disposal problems facing Oita Prefecture.