Municipal solid waste generation and disposal in FY2020

The Ministry of the Environment conducted a survey on the generation and disposal of municipal solid waste (solid waste and excrement) in FY2020 and published the results. The results are summarized as follows. The amount and cost of disaster waste disposal subsidized by the government are excluded since FY2011.

1. Waste generation and disposal

(1) Waste generation

The total volume of waste generation decreased and the volume of waste generation per person per day decreased.

Total waste generation: 41,670,000 t (decreased 2.5% from 42,740,000 t in 2019)
Waste generation per person per day: 901 g(decreased 1.9% from 918 g in 2019）

(2) Waste disposal

The amount of landfill waste decreased 4.2% from 2019. On the other hand, the recycling rate increased.

Landfill waste: 3,640,000 t (decreased 4.2% from 3,800,000 t in 2019)
Waste reduction rate: 99.1% (99.0% in 2019)
Landfill waste without intermediate treatment: 0.9% (1.0% in 2019)
Total amount of recycled waste: 8,330,000 t (decreased 0.9% from 8,400,000 t in 2019)
Recycling rate: 20.0% (19.6% in 2019)

2. Waste incineration plants

The number of waste incineration plants decreased.
The incineration capacity per plant slightly increased.
The plants with power generation facilities increased to 36.6% of all plants, with total power generating capacity unchanged.

As of March 31, 2021;

Number of plants: 1,056 (decreased 1.3% from 1,070 in 2019)
Capacity: 176,202 t/day (177,001 t/day in 2019)
Capacity per plant: 167 t/day (165 t/day in 2019)
Number of plants using residual heat: 738 (742 in 2019)
Number of plants with power generation facilities: 387 (385 in 2019) (36.6% of total)
Total power generating capacity: 2,079,000 kilowatts (unchanged from 2,079,000 kilowatts in 2019)

3. Landfill sites

Remaining landfill capacity has slightly increased. On the other hand, the number of landfills is generally decreasing and candidate sites for landfills are continuously difficult to secure.
The amount of landfill waste decreased. On the other hand, remaining landfill capacity expressed in terms of years increased.

As of March 31, 2021;

Remaining landfill capacity: 99,840,000 m³ (slightly increased 0.3% from 99,580,000 m³ in 2019)
Remaining landfill capacity expressed in terms of years: 22.4 years (21.4 years in 2019)

4. Waste disposal expenses

Expense of waste disposal increased.

Expense of waste disposal: 2,129.0 billion yen (2,088.5 billion yen in 2019)
Main contents of expense:

Construction and improvement: 438.5 billion yen (415.0billion yen in 2019)

Disposal and running costs: 1,575.2 billion yen (1,551.8 billion yen in 2019)

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