Japan's Efforts Against the Illegal Dumping of Industrial Waste

Abstract

ABSTRACTStarting in 1970, Japanese businesses were made responsible for the disposal of their own industrial waste. Thereafter, in principle, tax money could no longer be used to cover the costs of industrial waste disposal, a task entrusted to private‐sector contractors engaged in waste collection, transport and disposal. Letting economic principles dictate the handling of waste – which has no intrinsic value – opened the door to the rampant problem of illegal dumping by waste‐emitting businesses; private‐sector waste disposal contractors carried on a thriving business of improper waste disposal, creating an enormous black market. To deal with the illegal dumping and improper disposal of waste, the Waste Management Act was amended several times starting in 1991. An indirect effect of creation of the Industrial Waste Site Restoration Fund in 1997 was the economic incentive for prefectures to improve their own administrative capacity; in addition, the strengthening of punitive measures not only suppressed criminal activity but also created the incentive for law enforcement to improve its capabilities. Another amendment in 2000 gave waste‐emitting businesses greater responsibility for waste disposal, and the fact that they could become liable for costs, even if not in violation of the Act when waste disposal was subcontracted out, gave them the incentive to select trustworthy contractors with which to deal. As a result, problems such as illegal dumping have begun to decline. Several issues remain for Japan to address, among them some institutional problems in dealing with illegal dumping sites that have not been immediately cleaned up, and the fact that unscrupulous operators are exploiting a loophole that fails to classify contaminated soil as waste, still allowing them to dump it illegally. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.