The Pulse of the City and the Future of Sorting - Toshima Ward's Challenge 2003 Perspectives

The Pulse of the City and the Future of Sorting - Toshima Ward's Challenge 2003 Perspectives

In the third phase of the sorted collection plan based on the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, which started in fiscal 2003, Toshima Ward was one of the first municipalities to start sorting and collecting all 11 items, including cans, glass, paper, and plastic, from the first year. At the same time, Ome City, Machida City, Kodaira City, Kokubunji City, Fussa City, Hamura City, Mizuho Town, and Aogashima Village joined the plan, and Kunitachi City and Okutama Town joined in the following year. As a densely populated urban municipality, Toshima Ward was expected to serve as an urban model, with an efficient collection system and thorough cooperation from residents. Tokyo as a whole is expected to increase its container and packaging waste from approximately 99,570 tons in FY2003 to 1012,408 tons in FY2007, and a target was set to increase the amount of sorted collection from 340,511 tons in FY2003 to approximately 50,000 tons. Toshima Ward's batch handling of all items
contributed greatly to achieving this goal and attracted attention as a pioneering effort in the period of transition to the new system. This challenge was not merely waste disposal, but a practice that redefined the way resources should be used in the city and anticipated the urban model of a recycling-oriented society.