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Guidelines (Master Plan) for Disaster Waste Management after the Great East Japan Earthquake

May 16, 2011
Ministry of the Environment

1. Introduction

2. Roles of each actors

Central government:

The central government should ensure that municipal governments, or prefectural governments where they have been consigned relevant administrative work from municipal governments under the Local Autonomy Act (hereinafter collectively referred to as "prefectures/municipalities"), implement disaster wastes management appropriately and efficiently. To this end, the central government should prepare waste management guidelines (master plan) and provide assistance aimed at fostering cross-jurisdictional and efficient waste management, including implementing fiscal measures, dispatching experts and providing information on treatment facilities operated by municipalities or private businesses outside the prefecture.

Prefectural government:

With regard to the establishment of temporary storage sites and management of disaster-related wastes, the prefectural government should conduct overall coordination with municipal governments through a disaster waste management council or other framework and develop a disaster waste management plan that stipulates specific treatment methods. This plan should reflect ideas and proposals on treatment methods widely solicited from the public. Where the prefectural government has been consigned relevant administrative work from a devastated municipal government under the Local Autonomy Act, the prefectural government should manage disaster-related wastes on behalf of the municipal government.

Municipal government:

The municipal government should treat disaster-related waste in accordance with the disaster wastes management plan developed by the prefectural government.

3. Fiscal measures for waste management

(1) Fiscal measures

Considering the severity and extensiveness of the damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, the central government should, as an exception, raise the rate of national subsidies for disaster waste management implemented by prefectures/municipalities in a manner that takes into account the rate of national contribution specified in the Disaster Relief Act. Disaster wastes management expenses that are not covered by state subsidies and are therefore to be borne by municipal governments should be fully financed by issuing disaster response bonds if the municipality’s estimated disaster waste management costs are excessively high. The full amount of funds to redeem these bonds, including the interest, should be secured by national tax allocation to local governments.

(2) Ensuring efficient execution

Prefectures/municipalities should ensure efficiency in the execution of the budget for disaster waste management by taking into account the following perspectives.

The central government should support the promotion of cross-jurisdictional waste treatment by matching extra capacity in treatment facilities operated by municipalities or private businesses outside the prefecture and the demand of devastated municipalities.

4. Treatment methods

(1) Treatment policy

(2) Necessity of cross-jurisdictional waste treatment

(3) Waste type-specific treatment methods

(i) Combustible waste

(ii) Waste wood

(iii) Noncombustible waste

(iv) Scrap metal

(v) Waste concrete

(vi) Home appliances and automobiles

(vii) Ships

(viii) Hazardous wastes, PCB wastes, asbestos-containing wastes, etc.

(ix) Tsunami sediments

The following treatment methods should be considered according to the properties of the sediments.

* Tsunami sediments may be put into the ocean under the Marine Pollution and Disaster Prevention Law by permission of the Minister of the Environment, only if they are, just like water-bottom sands for which ocean dumping is allowed, unable to be disposed of on land, do satisfy the specified criteria and will not exert a significant effect on the marine environment.

(x) Waste at post-fire sites

5. Schedule

In consideration of regional characteristics of the wastes involved and treatment efficiency, each type of disaster-related wastes should be disposed of as shown in Appendix 2 principally within the time frames defined below. The time frames should be redefined by individual municipal governments to optimize them to regional conditions, such as restrictions on the collection volume due to the limited space for temporary storage and the possibility to cause traffic congestion.

(1) Relocation of wastes to temporary storage sites

(2) Intermediate treatment and final disposal.