The Japan Chain Stores Association asked the government Friday to revise the present system for recycling food containers and packages to address what it claims is an unfair burden placed on large retailers in the form of recycling costs.
Association Chairman Koji Sasaki and nine other association executives presented the request to Environment Minister Yuriko Koike.
The association complained that the Law for the Promotion of Sorted Collection and Recycling of Containers and Packages, which prioritizes recycling, leads to higher recycling costs for large retailers as the promotion of recycling expands.
The law should be revised to prioritize the reduction of these containers and packages by requiring producers, consumers and retailers to share recycling costs equally, it said. The government is planning to amend the law in fiscal 2006.
At present, small retailers are not required to bear such costs, while costs for makers of containers and packages are limited. Producers are also hesitant about passing recycling costs on to consumers.
The association also argues that honest retailers are getting a raw deal because the state doesn't punish retailers who don't shoulder their share of recycling payments.
Aeon Co., Life Corp. and Daiei Inc. have said they plan to withhold their payments until the system is changed.
The law took effect in 2000. In March, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry estimated the law should be credited with preventing some 550,000 tons of waste from going to landfills in fiscal 2003.