The amount of garbage dumped annually in landfills throughout the country should be slashed by nearly 90 percent from 1996 levels by 2050, according to a report released by a government advisory committee Thursday.
The report outlines guiding principles for realizing a more sustainable and recycling-intensive society and gives a blueprint for pushing ahead with recently enacted recycling laws and future state policy to achieve a more sustainable society and economy. The report, compiled by experts on recycling, was presented Thursday to a Cabinet advisory council on the economy and finance.
Annual final waste production -- that destined for the nation's crowded landfills -- should be reduced to 7.3 million tons by 2050, roughly a tenth of 1996 levels, the report says. A major obstacle will be nonwood construction waste, which is expected to jump by a factor of eight in the Kanto region over the 1995-2025 period, the report says.