Limitations of the CFC Recovery System and Illegal Release (September 2006)

Limitations of the CFC Recovery System and Illegal Release (September 2006)

In 2006, Japan appeared to have a well-developed recovery system for CFCs used in air conditioners and refrigerators, but in reality, a serious problem lay ahead. Although proper disposal of household appliances was mandated by the Home Appliance Recycling Law enacted in 2001, there were many cases where refrigerant CFCs were not recovered on site and released into the atmosphere. Commercial users were also obliged to comply with the 2002 CFC Recovery and Destruction Law, but illegal companies were often evading disposal.

The lax monitoring system, light penalties, and cost aversion of business operators led to the system becoming a skeleton. As a result, large amounts of CFCs, which deplete the ozone layer, and HFCs, which have a high greenhouse effect, were released into the atmosphere, causing global-scale environmental problems. Almost 20 years had already passed since the international agreement to abolish CFCs was reached in the Montreal Protocol, but the gap between the system and reality was significant.

At the time, Japan was on the verge of achieving its greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol, and attention tended to focus only on CO₂ reduction, but CFCs were also an issue that could not be overlooked. However, in 2006, the global warming risks that lurked in the gaps in the system were left unchecked.