Analysis of Tokyo’s municipal solid waste management system

Abstract

The article analyzes the features of municipal solid waste management in Tokyo. Special attention is paid to the analysis of trends in the volume of waste in the city of Tokyo over the past decades, as well as the reasons for the constant decline in these volumes. The article deals with the waste management activities of the Clean Authority of Tokyo, discusses the features of treatment of various types of waste, as well as the arrangement of the Tokyo city waste landfill. It was noted that the capital of Japan succeeded in creating an effective system for the disposal and recycling of municipal solid waste that can ensure the environmental safety of the city, as well as integrate waste into the country’s fuel and energy complex. An important feature of Japanese waste management companies is the desire not only to comply with official environmental standards, but also to adhere to their own standards, even more stringent. Based on an analysis of Japanese experience, the authors put forward proposals for optimizing the sphere of waste management in Russia. In particular, attention is drawn to the need to prevent an environmental catastrophe caused by a careless attitude to waste, improve the quality of life of citizens, prevent social unrest associated with environmental pollution, and also involve waste in the generation of electricity and heat. The authors note that as part of the “trash” reform, it is necessary to increase the environmental awareness of citizens, provide citizens with relevant and complete information about the industry, and create stricter environmental standards for waste to energy plants and other enterprises involved in waste management.