2004 Volume 20 Issue 1 Pages 64-73
Human society must establish a sustainable recycling-based society. It is difficult to carry out organic waste recycling without developing regional agriculture with an organic-waste recycling function. Therefore, conversion to a sustainable recycling-based society from the current conventional resource waste-based society demands reconsideration of the role of regional agriculture. We present the Tachikawa-machi organic waste recycling system as an example of organic waste recycling which is compatible with regional agriculture development. We analyzed the mutual relation of the Tachikawa-machi compost production center, homes, livestock farmers, and rice crop farmers. We also analyzed system maintenance costs and their meaning. Organic waste flows in this system are 'Regional collection - Regional recycling - Regional use'. Tachikawa-machi residences' entire quantity of kitchen garbage was composted. Tachikawa-machi rice crop farmers used all of resultant compost. They needed to develop regional agriculture to increase the quantity of compost that rice crop farmers used because the compost production quantity was related to the quantity of compost used. Consequently, the organic rice production quantity that rice crop farmers produced increased concomitant with the increase in compost production quantity. We witnessed regional agriculture development as livestock farmers' costs decreased and rice crop farmers' income increased. The Tachikawa-machi organic waste recycling system solved a difficult problem by conjoining processes of homes, livestock farmers, and rice crop farmers. This system is maintained through annual payments of about 23,960,000 yen by Tachikawa-machi. We witnessed effects including: systemic kitchen garbage disposal costs cut about 4,030,000 yen, rice crop farmers' income increased about 25,610,000 yen, decreased livestock farmers' costs, and a higher recycling rate in Tachikawa-machi.
