The Future of Information Technology in a Sound Material-Cycle Society

Abstract

Innovation of information technology has the potential to greatly change situations surrounding Japan’s recycling-based society endeavor. By improving efficiency and optimization at each stage of the product life cycle, there are possibilities for productivity to be vastly improved while resource input and waste generation could be reduced. Along with this, there would also be possibilities for the promotion of proper processing of waste, reduction of illegal dumping, advancement of recycling, and so on.
　While the first, second, and third industrial revolutions realized and developed a mass-production and mass-consumption society, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution” may provide the impetus for positively reforming this very society of mass-production/mass-consumption itself. This is clearly stated in the draft version of the 4th Basic Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society. In this paper, we describe the changes that innovation of information technology could possibly bring to recycling-based societies and we present current measures being taken regarding innovation of information technology in the fields of 2R (reduce, reuse), recycling, proper disposal (general waste, industrial waste) and waste disposal at disaster sites.