Appliance recycling was a response to municipal limits Mid 1990s

Appliance recycling was a response to municipal limits Mid 1990s

In the mid-1990s, Japanese municipalities were facing the limits of waste home appliance disposal. This was due to a rapid increase in the amount of large, composite materials in waste home appliances, which coincided with the renewal period of consumer durables such as televisions and refrigerators. Waste home appliances unsuitable for incineration or landfill increased disposal costs, and illegal dumping became a social problem. Tight final disposal sites and increasing financial burdens make it difficult for local governments to cope with the situation on their own. In response to this situation, the home appliance industry has taken steps to establish a collection and processing system in which manufacturing and sales cooperate. The idea was to cover 80% of the approximately 600,000 tons of waste collected annually, including washing machines and air conditioners, rather than limiting the collection to TVs and refrigerators. This move marked a shift in thinking to extend
responsibility for disposal to the manufacturer, and as a practical response to the limitations of local governments, it was an important precursor to the later enactment of the Home Appliance Recycling Law.