Methane gas utilization project at the central breakwater reclamation site in Tokyo (as of 2024)

Methane gas utilization project at the central breakwater reclamation site in Tokyo (as of 2024)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is promoting an initiative to effectively utilize methane gas generation from the decomposition of landfill waste at the inner and outer landfill sites of the Central Breakwater Landfill. This project, initiated in 2010 under the leadership of the Bureau of Environment of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, aims to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make effective use of resources.

In particular, approximately 15,000 tons of methane gas is collected annually at the Central Breakwater Inner Landfill, which has been sent to the "Gas Effective Utilization Facility" and used for power generation since 2015. This power plant has the capacity to supply electricity to approximately 10,000 households annually and plays an important role in supporting the energy needs of urban areas. Furthermore, since 2018, the residual heat generated as a byproduct of power generation has also been used at nearby facilities to improve energy efficiency.

Hitachi Zosen Corporation, a leading environmental engineering firm, provided the technology for this initiative, which employs the latest technology to efficiently use the recovered methane gas for combustion and power generation. In addition, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. is moving forward with a demonstration project to refine some of the recovered gas and supply it as city gas starting in 2020.

Meanwhile, the outer landfill site produces about 1,000 tons of methane gas annually, and the challenge is to improve the recovery rate. 2022 will see the installation of new equipment, and the goal is to increase the recovery rate from the current 70 percent to over 90 percent by 2030. This plan is part of the "Zero Emission Tokyo Strategy" formulated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 2020, and is positioned as an important step toward achieving the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

Furthermore, the project is attracting attention as a model case not only in Japan, but also for other major cities abroad: in 2023, plans are underway for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to strengthen technical cooperation with other Asian countries, in particular to introduce a similar waste treatment model in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Central Breakwater Landfill initiative is a symbolic example of not just reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also contributing to the energy efficiency and sustainability of the entire city.