Comparative analysis of recycling industry development in Japan following the Eco-Town program for eco-industrial development

To develop appropriate recycling industries, EID practices should be based not only on technologies but also on user practices, regulations, infrastructure, and social norms especially policy. The Ministry of Environment, Japan (MOEJ) has attempted to promote the effectiveness of recycling activities in Eco-Towns and improve recycling activity by implementing policies. The aim of this study is to evaluate how to make EID initiatives more effective through the implementation of recycling activities. In particular, we analyzed comparatively the performance improvement effect of implementing recycling boundaries and local and national policies on recycling industries located from 2007 to 2012 in Eco-Towns after the cessation of the Eco-Town program. The SMC blocks policy and the advanced Eco-Town program have played important roles in supporting recycling business after the program. Main results were three points as the analysis on these policies. First, changes in the operating rates varied by the waste type. Second, operating performance had improved slightly in the targeted period. Third, the relationship between the recycling boundary and operational performance is a crucial point, and especially importance of supply side policy, which means recycled product purchase support. The idea of waste supply chain management should be applied to recycling policy and Japanese empirical analysis would be useful for provision of general framework. Maintaining this type of temporal monitoring would be useful to better understand the mechanisms of recycling activities.