ENVIRONMENT | TD – One area that can be a model for a zero waste lifestyle is Kamikatsu Village in Japan or the first zero waste city in the world.
Kamikatsu Village, located 370 miles from Tokyo, was the first area to announce its success in implementing a zero waste policy.
The success of implementing zero waste in this village can be seen by the cleanliness of every street and corner of the village which is free of rubbish.
Kamikatsu’s famous achievement is their success in reusing 81% of items that had previously been thrown away in 2016.
The success of Kamikatsu Village in a zero waste culture has the key to involving all levels of its population. They sort the waste from home.
They remind each other even if it’s just to remove nails from wooden boards or remove labels from bottles and separate them into different waste groups.
Even glass bottles are separated from their caps and grouped according to color. Bottles with remaining soy sauce or cooking oil in them are also separated from PET bottles used for drinking.
They also introduce children to a culture of cleanliness and waste management as early as possible. This can be seen from the students who always share the task of cleaning the school area.
Initially, before 2000, Kamikatsu Village was equipped with an incinerator or waste burning unit, which is where 80% of the waste there ends up. After that, the remaining 14% will go to recycling facilities. And the rest, only 1%, is wasted in landfills.
However, because the law regarding greenhouse gases also calls for the generation of smoke from burning waste, Kamikatsu residents are trying to sort waste into 13 categories and 45 types for recycling or reuse.
The successful implementation of zero waste in Kamikatsu Village, which of course includes 3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle), cannot be separated from the support of the Japanese Government which promotes a zero-waste lifestyle. This support was even passed into the Waste Cleanup Act.
The success of Kamikatsu Village then became an example for countries around the world to start emulating their way of dealing with waste problems.
What needs to be noted is that the population of Kamikatsu Village is only 1,500 people. It will be more difficult to coordinate a much larger population in an area to implement a zero waste policy.
In fact, the challenges of implementing zero waste often arise from people’s pessimism about the possibility of living without waste.
However, with support from the government and providers who care about the environment, this is very possible to be realized, as has been achieved by Kamikatsu Village. (Pat)
2023-11-24 06:15:56
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