The Role of Communities and their Challenges for the Establishment of a Sound Material-Cycle Society

Abstract

The promotion of local initiatives is vitally important for the establishment of a “sound material-cycle society” which is advocated by the enactment of “the Basic Law for the Establishment of a Sound Material-Cycle Society” in 2000. A variety of community-based actions are taken by the initiatives of national government, prefectures, municipalities, citizens, enterprises and NGOs. Among others, municipalities are taking a central role either as a promoter or a coordinator of joint activities conducted by different stakeholders. This paper briefly reviews the concept of a sound material-cycles society and discusses the role of communities to achieve 3R (reduce, reuse, and recycle) of wastes. Then it takes up some examples of resource recycling and other local actions taken by local governments and citizens in various communities in Japan, and discusses challenges for enhancing local actions for the sustainable use of resources.