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Opinion
Invitation to dump
I live in the Nasu Highlands of northern Tochigi Prefecture, an area I think is one of Japan's most beautiful. As I drive to work, I'm treated to a spectacular view of the nearby mountains. To reach the expressway, I drive through lush woods and even over a dry river bed (without a bridge!). I find viewing such natural beauty a great way to begin each working day.
Recently, however, I've also been seeing less pleasant sights on my commute. Near the river, I now get to gaze at the battered hulk of an old refrigerator, a huge, half-smashed television set and numerous other pieces of household trash. It seems that Japan's new "Home Appliances Recycling Law" is working in ways its drafters never intended.
This new law requires you to pay a few thousand yen to throw away old refrigerators, televisions, air-conditioners or washing machines to offset the cost of recycling them. Of course, nobody wants to pay this, and the new law has been an incentive for unscrupulous individuals to dump these items illegally. So a law designed to help clean up Japan is actually making the situation worse.
Of course, this problem was foreseen even before the legislation was passed. Many proposed these fees be charged at the time of purchase instead. But despite the obvious logic, pressure from manufacturer groups and worries about hurting the economy led lawmakers to pass the counterproductive act now on the books.
At this point, a true solution requires not only that we switch the collection of these fees to the time of purchase, but also a way to clean up the damage that has already been done. I think I have a worthwhile suggestion: Appliance "deposits."
At purchase, one would pay a fee for the amount it costs to recycle the item, and also a deposit of say, ¥5,000. Then, when you bring in an old TV or something for disposal at an approved recycling center (such as an appliance store or municipal incinerator), you receive your ¥5,000 back. You would not need to prove ownership of the item — the funds would be paid to whoever brought it in.
This system would mean that people would get paid for, rather than paying for, disposing of old appliances. Not only would this eliminate any incentive to dump illegally, but it would also encourage people to go out and gather up abandoned appliances and bring them in for cash. In fact, the system could be expanded well beyond the four types of appliances covered by the current law. A system like this worked beautifully to clean the streets of my home state of Michigan of old cans and bottles when we started a deposit law on beverage containers back in the 1980s.
What about the impact on the economy? Certainly the effect may be negative in the short term. However, few people are willing to live without a refrigerator or TV, and they will have to be replaced sooner or later.
So let's give this system a try! Keeping Japan's countryside, and our own neighborhoods, free from piles of rusting trash is more than worth a few thousand yen.