Abstract
Watari-cho is a town that was profoundly devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, which struck on March 10, 2011. One of history′s largest tsunamis surged forth out of the sea and changed everything for our region. Pine trees that had been planted along the coast to protect against the force of a tsunami, as well as family homes, were swept clean away in a most unimaginable scene. Under such conditions, the handling and treatment of debris and rubble were required beyond what conventional disaster prevention planning systems had prepared for. On top of that, there were also the problems of having to search for more than 500 missing people and how to remove the massive amounts of debris leftover from the disaster. We promptly performed all of the required tasks for disaster waste disposal. Based on national policy, disaster wastes were collected and distributed for disposal in three stages : preliminary, intermediate and final. Watari-cho has developed the original procedure manual for this process. This paper introduces important points brought out in the manual in the hope that it will be useful to others in the future.
