Home appliances can be a source of pollution if handled inappropriately, but become useful resources if handled in the right way

In developing countries, small companies recover precious metal from appliance waste manually, which is a health hazard for workers and contributes to environmental pollution. Home appliances contain both hazardous substances and useful resources, such as rare metals. Treatment through sophisticated resource recovery technology produces merit in term of environmental preservation and the reuse of precious resources.

Collection and recycling to make diverse products

Under the 3R policy (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), Japan has been collecting PET bottles, food trays, and cans separately for reuse as recycle resources in the manufacturing of new products. PET bottles are collected in accordance with the Act on the Promotion of Sorted Collection and Recycling Containers and Packaging, and they are used to make a variety of textile products, etc. Relatively high-grade PET bottles are collected and remade into PET bottles or carpets with the high technology possessed by Japan.

Safe and appropriate disposal of medical waste

Some waste generated from medical institutes may be contagious. In the past, Japan has experience cases of medical accidents in which medical staff were infected by hepatitis B with needles used on hepatitis patients which eventually caused death. Such accidents attracted public attention and made people aware of the need for the sterilization of medical waste.

Advanced ability to prevent pollution and high-efficiency power generation

From about 1960, Japan began disposing urban garbage by incineration, and today, Japan possesses the world’s leading garbage incineration facilities. In the fiscal year 2009, there were 1243 incineration facilities in Japan, incinerating garbage using several methods – stoker furnaces, fluidized bed furnaces, and gasification fusion resource furnaces with the objective of ash recycling. Stoker furnaces account for 70% of all furnaces, and improvement of this type of furnace is progressing rapidly.

Solid Waste Management and Recycling Technology of Japan
Source: Ministry of the Environment

Introduction

With the aim of preserving the environment in rapidly developing nations, we will introduce Japanese waste management and recycling technologies, which effectively turn waste into resources or appropriately dispose of it.