Abstract
This study estimates expense cutbacks for final disposal and the potential restoration costs associated with the categorization of inert waste landfills (IWLs), where only inert industrial waste is being disposed of. The expense for final disposal has been reduced, as inert waste is disposed of in IWLs at a lower price than that of other wastes disposed of in sanitary landfills (SLs). The total reduction amount has been calculated from the volume of inert waste being disposed of and the disposal fees for IWLs and SLs. The reduced expense is estimated to be 4303 billion yen for the period 1977-2003. The potential restoration cost is considered to be a virtual restoration cost required if the cases of inappropriate disposal at IWLs were to be restored. Information on cases of inappropriate disposal has been collected from various data sources. The potential restoration cost was estimated to be 537 billion yen or 1072 billion yen. We compared the estimated figures and found that the net reduction was 3231 billion yen or 3766 billion yen. Although significant expenses were reduced, it should be noted that a considerable amount of restoration cost would also be generated.
