Environment The Fiction of "Not Waste"-Attacks on Disguised Recycling 2002

Environment The Fiction of "Not Waste"-Attacks on Disguised Recycling 2002

In 2002, one of the major issues that rocked Japan's waste administration was the issue of "not-waste" deceptions. At industrial waste disposal sites, companies were piling up sludge and waste plastics that should have been disposed of as "raw materials for recycling" in order to avoid proper disposal. This was a typical environmental crime to reduce disposal costs, and cases of illegal dumping and environmental pollution were frequent throughout the country, ultimately leading to illegal dumping and environmental pollution.

In the background, there was a contradiction between the cost pressure caused by the recession after the collapse of the bubble economy and the rapidly expanding recycling system under the Basic Law for Establishing a Recycling-based Society, which came into effect in 2000. The immaturity of the system was exploited, and the line over "resource or waste" remained unclear. The Central Environment Council therefore recommended expanding the definition to "treat even unwanted recyclable materials as waste," in an attempt to close the loophole for malfeasance.

However, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and industrial circles vehemently opposed this policy. They argued that if even valuable materials were treated as waste, it would impede the healthy distribution of recyclables, and they were concerned about the atrophy of the market for recyclable resources and the negative impact on the collection system. In other words, the conflict structure was highlighted: the Ministry of the Environment prioritized safety assurance, while industry sought to protect market principles and the flexibility of the resource cycle.

Behind this debate was a social climate in which a series of large-scale environmental crimes, such as the illegal dumping incident on the Aomori/Iwate border that was uncovered in 1999, were taking place. The fact that hundreds of thousands of tons of illegal dumping were justified under the name of "recycling" shows how blurred the boundary between waste and resources had become.

Consequently, the direction to expand the definition of waste led to subsequent amendments to the law, and regulations against "waste disguising" were tightened. This series of offensives symbolizes the period when Japan's waste administration wavered between "loophole regulation" and "sound market formation.