Greenpeace Japan Press Release
Jun 16, 2004

Kamikatsu town is famous for the terraced rice paddies.

The groundbreaking Zero Waste declaration by the town of Kamikatsu in Tokushima prefecture in September 2003, which stipulated that the town will strive to reduce its waste to zero by 2020, has now been followed by the Ministry of Environment's announcement on June 16 that it has selected Kamikatsu's project as the "exemplary recycle project for economy and environment."

In recognizing Kamikatsu's Zero Waste Academy proposal the Environment Ministry stated that the project represented "an exemplary model for community development based on originality and wide popular participation for economic and environmental recycling." Greenpeace Japan welcomes the Ministry's decision as well as Kamikatsu's substantive effort to follow up on its Zero Waste declaration.

Founding of the Zero Waste Academy is expected to serve as an impetus to substantiate Kamikatsu's Zero Waste declaration and further spread of Zero Waste not just to other towns within the prefecture but also to municipalities throughout Japan.

Greenpeace Japan's toxic campaigner Junichi Sato said, "Kamikatsu's positive effort with the specific time commitment of 2020 has attracted a worldwide attention. As an instrument to implement policy, the founding of the Zero Waste Academy suggests that the concept of Zero Waste that Greenpeace initiated has a potential in Japan. I hope the concept will encourage other municipalities to come up with their own scheme of Zero Waste to improve waste management."

Unlike the incineration policy that the central government promotes the Zero Waste encourages autonomous waste management by municipalities. Setting an ambitious goal such as the one set by the town of Kamikatsu that declared to eradicate waste by 2020 the Zero Waste not only raises the awareness of communities but also effectively contains the accrual of waste from the source by enforcing producer responsibility.

Greenpeace is promoting the Zero Waste policy worldwide, and has been especially active in Australia, Britain and Japan. Last July Greenpeace Japan embarked on a Zero Waste lecture tour with Dr. Paul Connett of St. Lawrence University to ask municipalities throughout Japan to adopt Zero Waste policy which led to Kamikatsu's Zero Waste declaration.

For more detail, visit Greenpeace Japan toxics website