Paying between Bt10,000 and Bt20,000 for the latest television set seems to be reasonable for the middle classes these days, but to be paying another Bt900 to have the old TV recycled is beyond many people's imagination.

The recycling of old home appliances has been compulsory in Japan since the Home Appliances Recycling Law was passed in 2001.

Disposing of old or unwanted television sets, washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators in the garbage bin is illegal as these used appliances need to be properly recycled or reused in order to ensure a cleaner and more sustainable world.

While old home appliances in Thailand are usually sold or given to small traders in used electrical appliances, the Japanese, before the law's enforcement, also paid only 500-800 yen (Bt160 to Bt255) to the local government to have their goods recycled. But this meant very few things were recycled or reused.

Japanese consumers usually throw out their TV sets or other electrical appliances after 10 to 12 years.

There are two peak periods annually for recycling home appliances. One is in July when people want to change air conditioners and refrigerators, while another occurs in December when an old TV will be dumped for a new model.

"At both these times, Japanese consumers are usually given a bonus," said Yutaka Kawamura, general manager of Nishinihon Kaden Recycle Corp (NKRC).

His company is one of the 25 private companies located in Kitakyushu Eco-Town Project in Fukuoka prefecture. Kawamura's company carries out the recycling of up to 180 tonnes a day of discarded home appliances, or about one million items a year.

The recycling scheme charges fees of ¥2,700 for TV sets, ¥3,500 for air conditioners, ¥4,600 for refrigerators, and ¥2,400 for washing machines.

The scheme users are also required to pay transportation costs for taking their home appliances to the stockyard.

There are currently 380 collection areas for home appliances in Japan and 47 home-appliance recycling sites. The penalty for disposing of discarded appliances illegally is up to ¥500,000.

Electrical-appliance dealers also have a role in this environment-friendly scheme by taking back their products from users and delivering them to manufacturers.

Producers of home appliance must help set up recycling sites and stockyards with certain recycling targets and provide information for end users. For example, NKRC's major shareholders include Toshiba, Matsushita, TERM, Hitachi, Sony, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Sanyo, and Fujitsu-General.

As the world's second-largest economy, as well as one of the biggest producers of home appliances, Japan has campaigned for environmentally friendly measures for electrical-appliance disposal for several decades.

The Kitakyushu Eco-Town Project is one of the biggest eco-towns in Japan that has been officially approved by the government.

The Kitakyushu city was once one of Japan's four most rapidly growing major industrial zones and was highly polluted in the 1960s. Its Doukai Bay area was nicknamed the "Sea of Death" and the "Seven-Coloured Smoke". But after decades of environmental nurturing, which significantly cleaned up the air and environment, its name was changed to "starry sky city".

It cost ¥80 billion over two decades to reverse the environmental damage. And the current Kitakyushu Eco-Town project has cost ¥65.5 billion, of which ¥5.9 billion was subsidised by Kyushu's local government, ¥25.7 billion by the national government, with the rest paid for by the private sector.

It is not only electric appliances that are recycled. Twenty-five private firms in the eco-town also recycle plastic PET bottles and create materials for textiles and other products, as well as office equipment, cars, fluorescent lighting tubes and medical and construction waste.

"Our attempts have apparently changed the public's perception regarding waste. Earlier, people considered household wastes as garbage. Now they don't mind sorting out waste and realise how important it is," said Junichi Hiraishi, manager of the Environmental Industries Promotion Office's Environmental Bureau.

He said there was a need for public awareness about the Kitakyushu Eco-Town Project as the local government has increased its residents' awareness by encouraging them to survey the eco-town to help them understand the essence of environmental preservation.

From 1998 to 2004, some 420,000 people visited the eco-town, which is the home of not only 25 recycling plants but also organisations carrying out research and development on cutting-edge environmental technology.

As of 2003, Japan's total industrial waste amounted to 412 million tonnes per year, of which 21 million tonnes were recycled. The country's total household waste came to 52 million tonnes per year, of which 8.25 million tones, or 15 per cent, was recycled.

The truth is, whether or not Thailand is ready for this kind of environmental preservation that requires such huge investment, the right strategy for a sustainable economy must move towards these kinds of practices.

Jiwamol Kanoksilp

The Nation

FUKUOKA, JAPAN