Recycling rate of waste Japan FY 2013-2022

In fiscal year 2022, the recycling rate of the total waste that was generated in Japan stood at almost 19.6 percent, down from 20.6 percent in fiscal year 2013. Household waste represented the majority of the generated waste in Japan. 

Waste management

Most of the waste collected in Japan is processed in incineration or recycling facilities or disposed of at landfills. With an incineration rate of municipal waste of over 70 percent, incineration is the most widely used method, as it can easily reduce the volume of waste. Despite the decreasing amount of municipal waste disposed at landfills in recent years, Japan is facing a shortage of landfill sites as the remaining capacity of landfill sites for final waste disposal is shrinking.

Waste recycling

In Japan, waste is usually sorted into categories by citizens before it is collected and is not picked up if the strict waste separation rules are not followed. Plastic, paper, PET bottles, aluminum, and glass are collected separately to be recycled. Since 2004, the Japanese government promotes the so called 3R initiative, which encourages businesses and citizens to focus on the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling waste. While the rate of recycled plastic waste increased up to over 85 percent, the recycling rate of Japan's total waste remains one of the lowest among industrialized countries.