Environment The wisdom of circulation sprouting in Toyama City - Waste Plastic Recycling Model 2002

Environment The wisdom of circulation sprouting in Toyama City - Waste Plastic Recycling Model 2002

In 2002, 9.97 million tons of waste plastic was discharged annually in Japan, but only 1.39 million tons were recycled, leaving the country dependent on incineration and landfill. With the tightness of final disposal sites and the dioxin problem during incineration becoming more serious, there was an urgent need to implement the principles of the Basic Law for Establishing a Recycling-Oriented Society in the field. Against this backdrop, the efforts of the Toyama City Eco-Town attracted nationwide attention.

The project is characterized by three key features: "resin unification," "yield improvement," and "cascade use. Resin is sorted with high precision using advanced technologies such as near-infrared spectroscopic identification and electrostatic sorting, and the quality of the recycled pellets is stabilized through advanced crushing, washing, and drying processes. Furthermore, instead of returning recycled materials to high-performance applications, we have secured a sales channel by using them in stages in less demanding fields such as pallets and construction materials.

This system was groundbreaking in that it allowed local waste plastics to be recycled in a sustainable manner and was also linked to the industrial base. The Toyama City model demonstrated the possibility of "local cities taking charge of a recycling-oriented society," and later became a guideline for eco-town plans and waste plastic treatment projects throughout Japan.