The town council of Kamikatsu, located in Tokushima Prefecture in Japan's southwestern island of Shikoku, adopted the "Kamikatsu Township Zero Waste Declaration" on September 19, 2003.

The declaration states that the town has resolved to achieve zero waste by 2020 in order to bequeath clean air, palatable water, and fertile land to future generations through:
(1) Educating people not to pollute the earth
(2) Promoting waste reuse and recycling, and eliminating incineration and landfill by 2020, and
(3) Building a worldwide network for a better environment.

Meanwhile, the "Kamikatsu Township Zero Waste Action Declaration" states that the town will strive to eliminate the need for waste incinerators and landfills by 2020, in view of their understanding that landfills and incinerators, including gasification furnaces and RDF (refuse-derived fuel) power plants, can cause health hazards, resource depletion, environmental damage, and financial difficulties.

The concept of Zero Waste originated in Canberra, the capital of Australia, in 1996, and has been adopted by many municipalities in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and other countries. In Japan, Kamikatsu has become the first municipality to adopt a Zero Waste Declaration.



Posted: 2003/11/03 01:48:16 PM
Japanese version

TAG Energy , Local government , Material reduction , System/Law