Abstract
It has been 14 years since the Law for the Promotion of Sorted Collection and Recycling of Containers and Packaging was put into effect in April 2000. From the point of view of promoting greater resource circulation, drastic revisions are required regarding the Law for Container and Packaging Recycling in an effort to create higher efficiency and further advancements in material recycling. In order to achieve greater efficiency and upgrading, this paper proposes that local governments should establish a single-collection system for plastic containers/packaging and product plastics and determines that specified corporations should be entrusted to operate their advanced sorting facilities with plastic resources being differentiated according to resins. When this passes authorization by the cabinet minister, it is proposed that local consortium systems can then only recycle container/packaging plastic through designated businesses that will bear the costs. The effective implementation of proposals for new material cycle systems is expected to not only develop appropriate use of valuable plastics being discarded from households but will also reduce the financial burden on local governments and promote higher efficiency in materials recycling.
