Determination of the Aso Wide-Area Administrative Association: Circulation Concept of Eight Towns and Villages Living with the Volcano (2002)

Determination of the Aso Wide-Area Administrative Association: Circulation Concept of Eight Towns and Villages Living with the Volcano (2002)

In 2002, two years have passed since the enforcement of the Basic Law for Establishing a Recycling-based Society. While municipalities across Japan were struggling to establish a system for waste reduction and resource recycling, small local municipalities were faced with the reality of wavering between financial and human resource limitations and regional sustainability.

Eight towns and villages in the Aso region of Kumamoto Prefecture--Ichinomiya Town, Aso Town, Sanzan Village, Hano Village, Takamori Town, Hakusui Village, Kugino Village, and Choyo Village--formed the Aso Wide Area Administrative Association. They planned to jointly develop a waste recycling facility with a processing capacity of 17 tons per day. Technical cooperation was provided by Kawasaki Steel Corporation. The concept of the facility was not simply to incinerate waste, but to recycle the region's resources.

The idea of utilizing and protecting the Aso region's climate went beyond mere infrastructure development. The local economy, which is supported by tourism and agriculture, cannot exist without environmental preservation. Having an incineration facility is also an attitude of self-governance that does not impose responsibility for waste on others.

Under the slogan "Aso is Aso in its own way," the eight towns and villages were trying to create a prototype of a recycling-oriented society, not only by following the system, but also with the wisdom and pride of living together with a volcano. The Aso Wide-Area Administrative Union is the crystallization of their quiet determination.