Japan’s total annual waste output will be 40.34 million tons as of March 2024. It has been decreasing every year for the past 10 years, and compared to fiscal 2013, it has decreased by more than 4.66 million tons. The cost of waste disposal is 2.129 trillion yen. If this is converted to per capita, the amount of waste generated per day is 901 grams. This means that each citizen is responsible for more than 16,000 yen in waste disposal costs per year. Waste disposal is very expensive, including the collection and transportation of waste, incineration, recycling, and final disposal. In particular, more than 40% of food waste is difficult to burn, and it seems that a lot of costs are spent on its disposal.
If there is a lot of waste, it is enough to reduce the amount of waste generated from households. If we reduce the amount of waste, the fuel used for incineration will be reduced. And to improve combustion efficiency, we can reduce the moisture content of the waste. I have an acquaintance who is trying to reduce the amount of food waste by composting. Compost means ” a container for making compost”. Every day, he puts leftover rice, noodles, meat, fish, vegetables, etc. from the food waste of his seven family members into the compost. He uses microorganisms to ferment and decompose this food waste. The decomposed waste becomes compost and can be used for home gardening and flower cultivation. Interestingly, even if he puts 130 liters of food waste into the compost in the morning and evening for one year from September 2022 to September 2023, there is still room in the container. If more households, like this family, do not produce food waste, the amount of non-burnable garbage will decrease.
Several ways to reduce food waste without using compost have also been devised. To achieve this, attention will be paid to reuse and remaking. One way is to remake and eat leftover food that has been thrown away as garbage the next day. For example, instead of throwing away radish and carrot peels, try to eat them. If you simmer these as curry, you can get a lot of dietary fiber. This curry is easy on the stomach. It depends on the vegetable, but in many cases the skin and core are also rich in nutrients. If you remake what you would have thrown away and eat it the next day, you can save money on food. Being conscious of minimizing the amount of waste produced at home will lead to savings. Reducing waste creates a virtuous cycle that promotes good health, saves fuel, helps the city’s finances, and contributes to the environment.
