To contribute to resolution of waste problems in urban Asia (1/2)
Providing Asia with Tokyo's methods for waste management.
The Asian Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC21) holds various training programs in specialized fields, for the benefit of officials and specialists from member cities. This training was split into two halves, with the first, "Training for Urban Development and Management", held in Kuala Lumpur, and the last half, "Promotion of Environmentally Sound Waste Management and Resource Recycling", held later in Tokyo. We report on these two sections.
Report: Taka(Mr. Takanobu Iwasaki), Waste Management Division, Bureau of Environment, Tokyo Metropolitan Government
The Bureau of Environment of Tokyo Metropolitan Government is involved in international collaborative projects in the field of waste management. Due to the rapid increase in the economy and population, the amount of waste has also increased, leading to serious issues such as worsening environment and the tight capacity of landfills. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government seeks to support resolution of the waste management problems by sharing information and communicating with Asian cities about waste disposal and recycling.
Training for Urban Development and Management in Kuala Lumpur
As part of international collaborative efforts, I participated in "Training for Urban Development and Management" held in Kuala Lumpur in October, 2011. The theme of this training was exactly "solid waste management". As many as 30 participants from various Asian regions visited a waste management facility, and made presentations on their best practices. Among several topics in Tokyo's presentation, what impressed the audience most was "source separation of garbage by citizens". In Tokyo, local government offices set rules and citizens separate garbage. But there are many regions where garbage is disposed of unsorted. The cities without enough experience in garbage sorting and recycling seemed to have a great interest in how to gain the residents' understanding and cooperation.
This 3-day program was well organized and productive in that the participants discussed the measures to resolve their waste problems, and actively join the program.
Discussion in Bangkok
After the training in Kuala Lumpur, I visited Bangkok. The purpose of this visit was to discuss a new collaborative project in the field of solid waste management between Tokyo and Bangkok. Despite the threat of flooding, I was able to have a meeting with the Deputy Director General of department of Environment and other officials of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). Although the following day was Saturday, the BMA Environmental Department kindly accepted my request to visit some parks managed by the BMA. Bangkok would be subject to damage from the floods later, but at the time, riverside parks were yet to be submerged.
The knowhow to operate the training that I gained in the program and the discussion with BMA Environmental Department would lead to an ANMC21 training program in Tokyo and a workshop in Bangkok.
I will talk about it next time!
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