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JAPANESE COMPANIES FIND WAYS TO EXPORT GARBAGE AT A PROFIT

Washington Times

July 16, 1998. A shortage of landfill sites and increasing disposal costs are prompting Japanese garbage handlers to use loopholes in the law to allow them to sell the waste overseas.

Although Japanese waste-control laws prohibit the shipping of wastes of hazardous materials overseas, a Health and Welfare Minstry official, Tatsuro Akashi, said that "there is no objective definition to distinguish waste from goods, except for the question of whether anyone wants to pay for it."

Envinronmental groups worry that the garbage is being disposed of in places where labor is cheap, without regard for environmental or safety concerns.

The rise in disposal costs has also increased the amount of garbage dumped illegally, prompting 13 towns at the foot of Mt. Fuji to begin their own "dump-prevention patrols" to combat the problem. Some have also criticized the government for its policy of encouraging older ships, which often contain hazardous asbestos and oil, to be scrapped at a low cost in the Philippines, Vietnam or China.

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