### Environment Protecting the Soil or a Landfill: The Battle over Nakatosa's Waste Disposal Facility from the Early 2,000s to 2,007 Years

### Environment Protecting the Soil or a Landfill: The Battle over Nakatosa's Waste Disposal Facility from the Early 2,000s to 2,007 Years

The location of a final waste disposal facility planned for Nakatosa Town, Kochi Prefecture, near a water source has aroused anxiety and divided the town's air. Residents voiced fears of groundwater contamination, and their voices were raised at a briefing session. The town conducted an environmental impact assessment and explained the safety of the project, but neither the formulas nor the jargon were enough to melt away the daily realization that they wanted to protect their wells, fields, and livelihoods. The council was divided on the issue, and a long, heavy silence fell over the community meeting hall.

It was the beginning of the 2000s. The Basic Law for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society came into effect, and the three "A's" became the watchwords. Cities were reducing their waste, but still needed a place to store the incinerated ash and unburnable residues that remained. Overcrowded cities were reluctant to accept them, and candidate sites were concentrated in the mountains and by the sea, where land prices were low. The dioxin problem and illegal dumping led to stricter laws and regulations, and higher safety standards were demanded of disposal sites, but the growing safety on paper and the concerns of those living on the ground remained out of sync.

The technology presented by the planners traced the standards of the time. Composite shielding sheets of synthetic polymers sandwiched between bentonite, double liners and leak detection layers, water collection pipes and collection trenches. Stormwater perimeter drainage to keep rainfall from contaminating water. Gas venting to allow landfill gas to escape. Stability calculations and seismic ground motion assumptions to keep the slope from collapsing. Leachate is treated with activated sludge to lower organic matter, nitrification and denitrification to remove nitrogen, and coagulation sedimentation and sand filtration to remove turbidity. If necessary, advanced treatment is used to reduce the amount of leachate discharged to a level that complies with the standards.

However, the strata of a mountain are not monolithic. Cracks are not drawn on maps, and torrential rains come in beyond records. The skies over Tosa, known as the typhoon Ginza, test the margin of the plan. Technology lowers the risk but does not reduce it to zero. The question residents ask is not how small the number is, but what happens if it happens, and where the responsibility lies. Who will watch over them, how long will they bear the cost, and to what extent will they return the soil if a leak occurs? The questions extend outside of the technology.

It was around this time that the terms "information disclosure" and "consensus building" began to accompany government explanations. Comparison of alternatives, phased scale, a mechanism to halt operations, and third-party monitoring. To put promises made on paper into effect, we need to visit the site, measure the wells, and have a pair of eyes to sniff out the seasonal water. The seal of academics alone will not move hearts and minds. It takes time for safety spoken in the language of daily life to reach the side of daily life.

The conflict in Nakatosa Town shed light on the role of the receiver that has been played by the periphery of Japan. There are voices calling for employment and subsidies, and voices calling for the protection of the landscape and water. Both have their livelihoods at stake. In between the two, technology carefully redraws the outlines of what can be done. How can daily inspections be incorporated into the system? How do we fund the shutdown and removal in case of emergency? Can the concept of designing for the end be established from the beginning?

Eventually, Japan will broaden the scope of recycling, melting and recycling incinerator ash, and equalizing treatment through wide-area cooperation. Satellites, drones, ground-penetrating radar, and chemical sensors. The technology of monitoring and detection is quietly advancing. But the oldest and most reliable technology is to listen carefully to local memories. Where did the water once flow and where did the land once collapse? The history of the land, as told by the place names, is captured on the drawing board.

The Nakatosa landfill problem has shown the world how difficult it is for technology and society to walk side by side. Shielding sheets, leachate treatment, and community briefings are all key elements, but one is not enough. We need to build a bridge between the two. The name of that bridge is trust. This point of contention from the early 2,000s to 2,007 is the prototype for issues that continue to this day in many parts of Japan, and continues to question the art of living in the land of soil and water.