When Fiber Ships are Burned--The Intersection of FRP and Incinerators, April 1995

When Fiber Ships are Burned--The Intersection of FRP and Incinerators, April 1995

In the spring of 1995, Japan had left the era of mass production and mass consumption and was at a turning point in waste disposal. Lightweight and non-corrosive FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastic) was widely used for fishing boats and pleasure boats, but disposal of scrapped vessels was difficult and illegal dumping was becoming a social problem. 1,573 scrapped vessels were identified nationwide in 1994, and about 40% of them were FRP vessels. Against this backdrop, MHI in Nagasaki City and a group of local companies in Shimonoseki City developed FRP-specific incineration plants and demonstrated a technology to reduce the generation of toxic substances while retaining glass fiber at low temperatures.

This move was linked to the introduction of ISO 14000, which was coming the following year, and indicated the arrival of an era in which companies will be required to be environmentally responsible from manufacturing to disposal. Meanwhile, the featured small incinerator market also attracted attention. The waste incineration rate has already reached 73%, and the remaining capacity of final disposal sites is only 1.7 years. While demand for incinerators operated by small and medium-sized companies is increasing, there is also an urgent need to comply with environmental standards and improve the performance of equipment. Japan's environmental policy was at the crossroads of reuse and incineration, regulation and private technology.