Toshihiko Matsuto* and Nobutoshi Tanaka*

* Hokkaido University, Lab of Solid Waste Disposal Engineering

+ Correspondence should be addressed to Toshihiko Matsuto:
(Kita 13 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628 Japan)

Abstract

The per-capita waste amount and recycling rate are considered useful indicators to show waste reduction and recycling within municipalities. However, with regards to waste statistics in Japan, household waste and commercial waste are not always counted separately and the recycling rate is calculated only by using amounts collected by municipality. The concept of "waste stream" , waste material flows from separate waste sources, should be commonly understood, then waste indicators should be re-defined. In this paper, the waste stream of household waste is estimated. Instead of using traditional waste categories according to the type of material, twenty-eight waste components are used to characterize possible waste streams created by new recycling laws. Statistical data from manufacturers and waste statistics in municipalities, including resource recovery, are used to estimate the "waste stream".

Key words: waste stream, household waste, waste components, source of waste, generation rate