Recycling rate of PET bottles Japan FY 2012-20201

In the fiscal year 2021, around 86 percent of PET bottles in Japan were recycled. The recycling rate of PET bottles increased in recent years, while the recycling rate of Japan's total waste remained at around 20 percent.

Waste management

In Japan, waste is usually sorted by citizens before it is collected. Plastic, paper, PET bottles, aluminum, and glass are collected separately to be recycled. The remaining waste is processed in incineration 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, Japan is facing a shortage of landfill sites as the remaining capacity of landfill sites for final waste disposal is shrinking.

Plastic waste

Since plastic packaging is common in Japan, it was one of the leading countries to generate plastic waste. A significant amount of the plastic waste was exported from Japan, accounting for the second largest share of plastic waste exports worldwide. The remaining waste was mostly recycled, with thermal recycling being the main method to recycle plastic waste. With this method, the waste is incinerated to generate energy. Despite the filtering technologies, which avoid incineration plants to release large amounts of greenhouse gases, the incineration process produces fumes that contribute to air pollution and climate change.