Circulation Proposal from a Cold Region - Waste Reduction Policy of Abashiri City, Hokkaido, Japan (2002)

Circulation Proposal from a Cold Region - Waste Reduction Policy of Abashiri City, Hokkaido, Japan (2002)

At the time of 2002, as the tightness of final disposal sites for waste became more serious nationwide, each municipality was required to take its own waste reduction measures. Especially in the cold regions of Hokkaido, climatic constraints such as winter disposal difficulties and reduced collection frequency were considered major issues. Against this backdrop, Abashiri City attracted attention with its unique approach.

Abashiri City introduced a system of charging for household garbage with the aim of reducing the amount of burnable garbage. The system was designed to curb emissions by requiring the purchase of designated bags, a change from the previous system of free collection. To introduce the system, the city carefully ascertained the living conditions of each community, including elderly households, tourist businesses, and fishermen, and held a series of individual explanatory meetings and publicity campaigns. In order to ease the sense of burden caused by the change in the system, careful consideration was given to low-income residents by distributing bags free of charge.

The city also focused on education on waste separation, and promoted citizen awareness through environmental education at elementary and junior high schools and at community meetings. As a result, the amount of combustible waste generated has been reduced by approximately 20% since the first year of introduction, and the collection rate of recyclable waste has also increased. In addition, by flexibly addressing the issues of collection efficiency and storage methods unique to cold regions, such as changing the winter-only collection schedule, a model suitable for a recycling-oriented society has been established.

Abashiri City's policy has shown that local governments can achieve great results by developing flexible and participatory environmental policies tailored to regional characteristics. This initiative, built on a foundation of trust with citizens, has had a major impact on subsequent policies in other regions as a good example of a recycling-oriented society in a cold region.