a u t h o r Bobbie van de List
36
Recycling is a capital problem
in mega city Tokyo
In Japan, recycling seems to be gaining popularity by the year, especially in the capital tokyo.
But a city of little spare space is a continuing obstacle that all stakeholders must face.
Last May, Tokyo hosted Tokyo Forum
for Clean City and Clean Sky, a two-
day symposium where representatives
from 22 international ‘megacities’
discussed various environmental
issues – and one of the highest priori-
ties was recycling. Big cities share sim-
ilar challenges, the participants con-
cluded, and one of the main obstacles
is the lack of space. While Japan’s
population shrinks every year, the
reverse is case in the capital. Tokyo’s
‘pull factor’ on rural areas makes the
centre even more densely populated,
while the outskirts continue to
expand.
As the city grows, so does consump-
tion-driven waste. Tokyo handles 42
million tonnes of household waste a
year, of which nine million tonnes are
recovered, a recycling rate of around
20%.
There is plenty of room for improve-
ment but room is a luxury. Although
the Tokyo Metropolitan Government
is trying to incentivise good house-
hold behaviour and has initiated proj-
ects to showcase best practice and
increase awareness of the importance
of sorting and recycling (see box), ulti-
mately it is the responsibility of munic-
ipalities, or local wards.
GRASSROOTS POLICIES
Tokyo consists of 23 wards, each of
which has to come up with a recycling
policy. Akemi Ori, professor in envi-
ronmental law at Tokyo’s Sophia
Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo.
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