Illegal Export of Waste - January 2000

Illegal Export of Waste - January 2000

Illegal export of waste materials in Japan has become increasingly serious since the late 1990s, especially the illegal export of plastic waste and used electronic devices (e-waste). and the environmental problems caused by these exports have rapidly escalated. Many of these wastes were exported in a state that made them difficult to recycle, and were burned in the open or landfilled without proper local treatment.

In particular, Malaysia and the Philippines have been the largest export destinations. In 1999, about 1,500 hectares of land in Malaysia were contaminated with plastic waste due to illegal imports from Japan, and about 3,000 residents complained of health problems. In the Philippines, approximately 2,500 tons of waste plastic was illegally imported from Japan in 1999 and dumped without being processed, resulting in serious environmental and health hazards.

With regard to the illegal export of electronic equipment, a large amount of electronic equipment containing PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and lead is being exported. In Vietnam and Indonesia, about 60% of waste electronic equipment imported from Japan is improperly processed. This has resulted in serious soil and water contamination and increased health risks to residents in these countries.

In response to this problem, the Environment Agency strengthened its crackdown on illegal exports in 2000; in 1999, a domestic waste processor, Recycle Japan Corporation, was caught illegally exporting approximately 8,000 tons of waste plastic to Malaysia and fined over 100 million yen. Also in 2020, approximately 5,000 tons of waste plastic from Japan were illegally exported to the Philippines, and the companies involved were fined and suspended from business operations.

Furthermore, as an international response, the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes has been strengthened, and Japan is also working under this Convention to prevent the illegal export of waste. However, as of 2020, approximately 30% of illegally exported waste will still be untraceable, and there is a need to strengthen domestic treatment systems and further tighten export monitoring.