Where Does All the Garbage in Tokyo Go?
3 million tonnes of waste is generated in Tokyo each year. Where does it all go?
Every year, close to 3 million tonnes of municipal solid waste is generated in Tokyo’s 23 wards alone. That is enough to fill 7.4 Tokyo Domes. But where exactly does all our garbage disappear to?
Tokyo is arguably one of the cleanest cities in the world. Despite its size, population density, and distinct lack of garbage cans, the capital’s streets remain largely unlittered. Thousands of compact garbage trucks run on tight schedules to keep unsightly trash from the public eye.
But discarded plastic wrappers are only the tip of the garbage heap. Japan produces an enormous amount of municipal waste, ranking 8 in the entire world.
It might be tempting to think most of it comes from shops and restaurants, but the truth is that about 70% is generated by regular households like yours and mine. What’s more is that our painstakingly sorted plastics and color-coded bags don’t do as much good as we think. A majority of Tokyo’s waste ends up getting incinerated in special facilities — including plastics.
If you are imagining factories with smoking chimneys in remote parts of Saitama or Chiba, think again. There are no less than 21 incineration facilities in Toky’so 23 wards alone, including one right next to Shibuya Station.
Playing with fire
These inconspicuous buildings are equipped with state-of-the-art incinerators that can typically process 600 tonnes of garbage daily. The furnaces operate at ultra-high temperatures and are equipped with filter systems to minimize air pollution. In a bid to improve the facilities’ eco-friendliness, some of the ash is also being repurposed for industrial use.
The challenges of managing waste in the world’s largest city cannot be understated. Tokyo’s lack of space and population density alone pose a huge logistical problem. There have been many attempts to address this issue in the past, including creating artificial garbage islands around Tokyo Bay. But the simple truth is that no man-made landfills in the world can handle the amount of waste that comes out of the megapolis.
Incineration has thus become the de-facto process of waste combustion, providing a cheap and relatively environmentally friendly way out of this dilemma. But the long-term sustainability of this system is dubious at best.
Out of sight, out of mind
The convenience of incineration plants does not come without drawbacks. While these sophisticated facilities can indeed burn plastic, they do so at the expense of higher carbon dioxide emissions. This is a serious problem, considering Japan is the world’s second largest generator of plastic waste per capita after the USA.
Neatly packaged bentos, onigiris and triple-wrapped chocolates end up adding to a mountain of non-degradable waste headed for incineration. In Japan, plastic packaging alone makes up about 67% of all plastic waste — one fifth more than the world average. Despite this, the country’s recycling rate remains by far the lowest in the OECD bloc at a meager 20%.
An overreliance on incineration not only undermines sustainability initiatives like the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) but also hampers general awareness of waste. Spotless streets and strict recycling rules uphold the illusion of clean waste practices, while allowing unsustainable consumption patterns to continue unaddressed.
The price of convenience
Many cities around the world are racing to implement sustainability measures, but Tokyo is racing to build bigger and better incineration facilities. Low recycling, low awareness, and high consumption feed into a linear economy that makes disposable, single-use products disappear as if by magic.
Meanwhile, we keep generating around 1 kg of waste each on a daily basis. Most of it is plastic, and most of it will be incinerated around the block.
Tokyo’s streets remain clean, but can the same be said for our conscience?
