Environment Prevention of Illegal Dumping and the Framework of the Home Appliance Recycling Law (tentative name) - Transformation from a Disposal Society to a Recycling Society Late 1990s

Environment Prevention of Illegal Dumping and the Framework of the Home Appliance Recycling Law (tentative name) - Transformation from a Disposal Society to a Recycling Society Late 1990s

In Japan in the late 1990s, home appliances such as refrigerators, televisions, and washing machines that had become popular since the period of rapid economic growth had reached the end of their useful lives and were being discarded en masse. However, the cost of disposal was high, and illegal dumping of these products in mountains, forests, and riverbeds, avoiding regular disposal routes, had become a social problem. In rural mountainous areas, waste home appliances were left unattended, causing not only environmental destruction, but also seriously affecting the landscape and the lives of local residents. In addition to this, in the industrial sector, PCB waste liquids were stored at approximately 21,000 business sites nationwide, and delays in treatment had been a longstanding concern.

Against this backdrop, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) compiled the framework of the "Home Appliance Recycling Law (tentative name)" and proceeded to design a system with the prevention of illegal dumping and promotion of recycling as its two pillars. At the center of the system is a control slip system. This system was designed to contain illegal dumping by recording the sequence of processes in which waste home appliances are handed over from consumers to dealers, manufacturers, and disposal companies, and by retaining a copy of the slip as proof. In addition, dealers were obliged to clearly indicate the disposal costs at their stores, enabling consumers to grasp the cost of disposal from the point of purchase. In addition, manufacturers were required to report regularly on their recycling performance, and violations were punishable by fines of up to 3 million yen.

The design of this system symbolized a shift from the "mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal" type of society that was underway at the time. In Europe, the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) was already gaining ground, and Japan followed this trend and steered the country in the direction of imposing recycling responsibility on corporations. The Environment Agency and the Ministry of Health and Welfare held seminars at seven venues across Japan to familiarize businesses and local governments with the purpose of the system.

The rampant illegal dumping and the PCB problem in the 1990s provided the impetus for the development of environmental policy from mere "regulation" to "institutional design for a recycling-oriented society.