The Rhythm of Circulation Woven by Suburbs: Machida City's Perspective on Separation of Wastes in 2003

The Rhythm of Circulation Woven by Suburbs: Machida City's Perspective on Separation of Wastes in 2003

The third phase of the sorted collection plan under the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, which began in fiscal 2003, covers 11 items broadly classified into the four categories of cans, glass, paper, and plastic, and clarifies which municipalities will take the initiative in sorting and collecting all items from the first year. Machida City is a member of the leading group along with Toshima Ward, Ome City, Kodaira City, Kokubunji City, Fussa City, Hamura City, Mizuho Town, and Aogashima Village, with Kunitachi City and Okutama Town to follow in the following year. For Machida, whose population is growing in the suburbs and whose sphere of living is expanding, this "all items from the first year" was a challenge that would test the design capabilities of the collection sites and the establishment of sorting with citizen participation at the core. fileciteturn6file1L17-L23

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's forecast at the time, container and packaging waste was expected to increase from approximately 995,070 tons in fiscal 2003 to approximately 1,012,408 tons by fiscal 2007, and the expected amount of sorted collection was also expected to increase by approximately 50,000 tons from 340,511 tons in fiscal 2003. Machida City's early batch response was intended to raise the amount of resources to be converted to resources in response to the increasing amount of waste generated, and to simultaneously boost the "quantity and quality" of sorted collection. In Machida City, which has a wide collection area unique to the suburbs and a variety of housing types, the key points were to equalize the collection frequency and flow lines, optimize the placement of collection points, and ensure that the rules were well known. fileciteturn6file1L19-L21

In terms of related technologies, equipment groups such as multi-chamber packer trucks and route optimization at the collection stage, and magnetic separation, eddy current separation, and resin sorting using near-infrared rays at the sorting stage simultaneously enhance quality and efficiency. Behind the scenes of policy design, the use of planning support software that analyzes environmental impact and costs from the number of collection units and transportation distance to final processing from an LCA perspective was discussed, and the search for optimal solutions, including wide-area suburban traffic lines, was advanced. Furthermore, a system to support manifest preparation and management in line with the strengthening of emitter responsibility provided the foundation for ensuring proper disposal and traceability of business-related waste. fileciteturn6file3L1-L13 L24-L30

In plastic resource conversion, oil conversion (chemical recycling) facilities were beginning to be developed in Japan at that time, and routes for conversion to oil after sorting and shredding were in the implementation stage. In Europe, the DSD initiative shared the trend of turning the ratio of material recycling to chemical recycling, and Machida City's design concept was to "bundle and optimize various means of resource recycling. It was required to organically weave together systems, operations, and technologies to reduce the footprint of the suburban city and to achieve both comfort in living and resource recycling. fileciteturn6file4L10-L21 L29-L33