Working together to improve waste administration in Asia:
Tokyo and Bangkok held the Workshop on 3Rs and Waste Management
On two occasions in April and May of 2013, the TMG Bureau of Environment conducted three-day workshops in Tokyo for a total of 88 Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) employees, who are responsible for waste processing in their own city (44 persons on each occasion).
With Tokyo having previously received a request from the BMA for a more wide-ranging relationship, the events on this occasion were planned as a follow-on to workshops held in Bangkok two years ago.
In line with the holding of these workshops, a program was laid out in advance by working with the BMA regarding both topics of interest, and themes that Bangkok wanted to explore with the TMG. Below is a report of the workshop held in May.
【First Day】
Opening ceremony
A lecture was given by the TMG on "The TMG's Environmental Administration." This lecture introduced the legal framework pertaining to waste processing and recycling in Japan. It also offered the 3R approaches (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) that Tokyo, as a major metropolis with limited waste-burying capacities, promotes in order to minimize final waste disposal volumes.
【Second Day】
The entire second day was devoted to on-site inspections. Inspections were conducted by splitting participants into two groups, Group A and Group B.
○Group A
The waste collection and transport site in Nerima City
Group A visited Nerima City, where it conducted an on-site inspection of operations concerning the separate collection and transportation of household waste. The group also received a lecture on Nerima City's recycling business, etc. In addition to being instructed about the importance of offering residents suitable waste-separation methods for household waste that promote recycling, the group also witnessed a demonstration of waste-separation education targeted at children. The BMA also carries out the separate waste collection, but in a different way from that of Tokyo. Group A was comprised of many officials who manage and supervise waste collection sites in Bangkok, and the group members enthusiastically asked questions.
○Group B
The environmental education facility
at Central Breakwater Landfill Site
Group B inspected the Central Breakwater Landfill Site managed by the TMG, as well as a privately-run recycling facility for discarded information technology equipment, etc. The group also received a lecture on environmental education targeted at elementary school students.
【Final Day】
During the morning of the final day, participants visited an incineration plant in Tokyo, and they also received a lecture on "Protocols When Developing Incineration Plants & Resident Consent." In the afternoon, they returned to the TMG Buildings where they heard speeches by both Nerima City and BMA employees regarding their waste processing plans. The workshop program was then formally concluded.
The participants realized that the BMA and Tokyo share many things on the basic level of waste disposal plans, such as promotion of proper disposal and the 3Rs. On the other hand, the measures, which are unique to the BMA, were very new to the delegates from TMG. Such measures include that the BMA encourages households to compost food waste and that the gas collected from fermented food waste is used as the fuel at schools.
Workshop participants
At the closing ceremony, the vice-director of the BMA Environmental Bureau stated that the BMA would like to continue to hold the workshop like this seminar, focusing on the laws and regulations concerning waste disposal, the waste reduction measures such as the 3Rs, and environmental education.
The administrative officers both in Tokyo and Asian cities pursue the common goal of a better waste administration. Therefore, it is hoped that the TMG actively utilizes the network of the ANMC21 and shares its skill and knowledge with Bangkok and other Asian cities, with the aim of further developing waste administration with each other.
Back to Contents