Is Waste a Resource? - Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Nippon Steel Corporation take on the challenge of a "refuse derived fuel" society (RDF) - 2001

Is Waste a Resource? - Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Nippon Steel Corporation take on the challenge of a "refuse derived fuel" society (RDF) - 2001

In 2001, Japan's waste management policy was at a major turning point. In the stagnant economy after the collapse of the bubble economy, municipalities were faced with the serious challenge of reducing waste and promoting recycling, while at the same time taking measures against dioxin at incineration facilities, It had become difficult for local governments to take action on their own.

Against this backdrop, attention was focused on RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel), which is made by drying and crushing combustible waste into solid form, which looks like pellets or briquettes. Compared to conventional incineration, RDF has the advantages of stable combustion, high energy recovery efficiency as fuel, and reduced dioxin emissions during incineration.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Nippon Steel Corporation (now Nippon Steel Corporation) were quick to focus attention on RDF and decided to conduct a social experiment in which the city and the manufacturing industry would work together. The project is an attempt to convert garbage collected and processed by municipalities in Tokyo into RDF, which is then used in Nippon Steel's blast furnaces as a substitute for coke (a fuel made by dry distillation of coal). The steelmaking industry is an energy-intensive industry, and in particular, operating a blast furnace requires an enormous amount of heat source. The idea of incorporating urban waste as an energy source was an advanced practice that encouraged a shift in consciousness from "waste is a nuisance" to "waste is a resource.

This attempt had several social and policy implications. First, it was a "collaborative effort" that transcended the boundaries between waste disposal and industrial use. The introduction of RDF broke down this boundary and contributed to the construction of a "recycling-oriented society" in which city and industry are integrated. The next step was cost sharing and technology integration. By using RDF, Nippon Steel can reduce the amount of coal used and cut costs, while municipalities can avoid the construction of new incinerators and some of the dioxin countermeasures.

At the same time, however, the introduction of RDF has presented some challenges. Foreign material contamination, quality stability, transportation costs, and the need for facility renovation were among the issues discussed. In addition, as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) evaluations of the conversion of waste plastics and other materials into fuel have progressed since the mid-2000s, a fundamental question has emerged as to whether energy recovery with RDF will truly lead to a reduction in environmental impact.

Nevertheless, the RDF project undertaken by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Nippon Steel Corporation during this period was an important empirical example that presented the potential for resource recycling and collaboration between cities and industry, and was a forerunner that would have a major impact on later waste-to-energy policies (thermal recycling). It was a symbolic movement in an era when waste was beginning to be reevaluated as a "resource for society.