Over 70% of companies/organizations consider “joint pilot projects with other businesses to promote resource recycling” and “Policy Making” as the activities they most expect from the council in the future

About half of companies/organizations cite “numerous regulations leading to complicated compliance” and “differences in the interpretation of resource recycling/waste management among local governments” as challenges in promoting resource recycling

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Between May 17 and May 31, 2024, Resource Recycling Council conducted a “Survey on Preferences for the Operation of Resource Recycling Council” (hereafter, “this survey”) among all 147 organizations (members, sponsors, and Observers) as of the end of May 2024.

The survey was aimed at understanding members’ views on the operation of Resource Recycling Council, as well as identifying current conditions and issues related to resource recycling promotion. Below are the main findings from this survey.

These results will be used for Policy Making by the council and discussions within its working groups. We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who participated in the survey.

[Key Findings]

①Over 70% of companies/organizations consider “joint pilot projects with other businesses to promote resource recycling” and “Policy Making” as activities they expect from the council in the future.

②About 80% of companies/organizations are interested in “Promoting plastic material recycling to achieve the circular economy and carbon neutrality (including upstream-downstream collaboration and related legal systems).”

③About half of companies/organizations cite “numerous regulations leading to complicated compliance” and “differences in the interpretation of resource recycling/waste management among local governments” as challenges in promoting resource recycling.

※Percentage distributions in this survey are rounded to one decimal place, so totals may not sum to 100%.

[Detailed Findings]

①Over 70% of companies/organizations consider “joint pilot projects with other businesses to promote resource recycling” and “Policy Making” as activities they expect from the council in the future.

◉In this survey of all members, sponsors, and Observers of the council, the most frequently selected response to “Activities expected from the council in the future” was “Joint pilot projects with other businesses to promote resource recycling” (75%), followed by “Policy Making to promote resource recycling” (70%).[Figure 1]

◉When asked to choose only one activity expected from the council in the future, the top answer was “Joint pilot projects with other businesses to promote resource recycling” (43%), followed by “Policy Making to promote resource recycling” (17%).[Figure 2]

[Figure 1]

Q: Which future activities of the council do you expect? (Multiple answers)

[Figure 2]

Q: Of the council’s future activities, which one do you expect the most?

②About 80% of companies/organizations are interested in “Promoting plastic material recycling to achieve the circular economy and carbon neutrality (including upstream-downstream collaboration and related legal systems).”

◉In this survey of all members, sponsors, and Observers of the council, the most frequently selected “area of interest” was “Promoting plastic material recycling to achieve the circular economy and carbon neutrality (including upstream-downstream collaboration and related legal systems)” (75%), followed by “Creating a decarbonized, low-environmental-impact regional circulation model” (64%).[Figure 3]

◉Regarding “support or requests expected of the council’s future activities,” respondents mentioned “advanced initiatives to socially implement resource recycling projects” and “raising public awareness of the circular economy,” among others.[Written Comment 1]

[Figure 3]

Q: Which activity areas are you interested in? (Multiple answers)

[Written Comment 1]

Q: What kind of support or requests do you have for the council’s future activities? (Free response)
Note: Some wording has been modified to prevent identification of specific member companies or organizations.

※Some wording has been modified to prevent identification of specific member companies or organizations.

▪ Many communities concerning the circular economy and resource recycling have emerged recently, but we hope that the council will pursue unique activities without merely comparing itself to other organizations.

▪ We anticipate advanced initiatives to socially implement resource recycling projects.

▪ We offer a wide range of public-private collaboration support services, such as how to utilize subsidies or conduct lobbying. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to support the council’s activities.

▪ We hope the council will raise public interest in the circular economy through PR activities and events.

▪ We look forward to case studies, promotions of companies advancing resource recycling, and updates on Policy Making progress.

▪ We would like to learn about the resource recycling initiatives of upstream companies and have opportunities for business matching.

▪ We hope the council will accelerate the realization of a Japanese version of the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and work on international collaboration (with the EU, for example).

▪We expect the council to contribute to the realization of the circular economy across various industries.

▪ We hope that by 2030, the council will serve as a platform for integrating Japan’s SDGs initiatives toward solving social issues, sharing information, practices, and outcomes, and becoming a hub of social innovation.

▪ We hope the council will strengthen branding for the resource recycling industry and revamp any negative image that still lingers in certain regions.

▪ We would like to see the council make Policy Making proposals to address the issues identified in the survey.

▪We hope to gain access to information on trends among member companies.

▪ We expect activities aimed not only at downstream industries but also at integrating upstream and downstream industries.

③About half of companies/organizations cite “numerous regulations leading to complicated compliance” and “differences in the interpretation of resource recycling/waste management among local governments” as challenges in promoting resource recycling.

◉n this survey of all members, sponsors, and Observers of the council, the most frequently cited challenge in promoting resource recycling was “numerous regulations leading to complicated compliance” (53%), followed by “differences in the interpretation of resource recycling/waste management among local governments” (47%).[Figure 4]

◉When asked to choose only one option regarding “challenges in promoting resource recycling,” the top answer was “numerous regulations leading to complicated compliance” (26%), followed by “We want to switch to material recycling, but there are no subsidies or incentives for increased costs” (19%).[Figure 5]

◉A variety of opinions were provided from multiple perspectives about “specific challenges and potential solutions for promoting resource recycling efforts.”[Written Comment 2]

[Figure 4]

Q: Which areas do you find challenging in promoting resource recycling initiatives? (Multiple answers)

[Figure 5]

Q: Among the areas of promoting resource recycling initiatives, which one do you find the most challenging?

[Written Comment 2]

Q: What specific challenges do you see in promoting resource recycling initiatives? Please also provide any proposed solutions. (Free response)

※Some wording has been modified to prevent identification of specific member companies or organizations.

Challenge 1: Numerous regulations make compliance complicated課題

1-1:Aspects perceived as problematic

①Long working hours and time constraints for drivers are subject to different requirements under the Labor Standards Act, the Road Transport Act, the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act, etc., resulting in complex operational management. ②Local governments are not fully implementing the guidelines or direction set out in Ministry of the Environment directives (technical advice under Article 245-4, Paragraph 1 of the Local Autonomy Act). ③While a joint government-private sector solution is desired, the challenges among different stakeholders in resource recycling are not readily visible. ④ Sometimes waste generators, disposal operators, and even government officials do not fully understand all regulations. It also seems that local governments are losing staff with technical expertise.

1-2:Proposed solutions to address these challenges

①Promote initiatives to expand employment for drivers. Other: Implement Policy Making proposals for regulatory relaxation from relevant industries.

Challenge 2: Desire to launch a resource recycling business, but uncertain about long-term viability

2-1: Aspects perceived as problematic

①Insufficient economic feasibility for products made from recycled materials. ②Economic feasibility is essential, and even with it, there are concerns about whether market demand will remain stable over time.

2-2: Proposed solutions to address these challenges

①Providing policy incentives for companies and consumers could accelerate the market formation for products made from recycled materials. ②Enhanced product development capabilities for items using recycled materials are needed.

Challenge 3: Desire to shift to material recycling, but no subsidies or incentives to offset increased costs

3-1:Aspects perceived as problematic

①No incentives currently exist to encourage material recycling. ②Private businesses face barriers to entering local resource collection systems, making it difficult to design incentives for resource collection. ③Simple crushing of gypsum board and its use for soil improvement carry low investment risk, which hinders the adoption of horizontal recycling facilities. Some regions allow this method, but it should be regulated. If subsidies were provided for horizontal recycling, more facilities would be introduced. ④Regulations on sorting methods and waste collection timing are ambiguous, and notification to each company is not thorough, so penalties and other deterrents are not functioning. There is also insufficient development of subsidies or other measures to encourage companies to focus on resource recycling.

3-2:Proposed solutions to address these challenges

①Tax reductions for material recycling products. ②Local governments grant private businesses the rights needed to create resource collection hubs and shift to recycling-based operations. ③ In the nationwide unified permit system being developed by the Ministry of the Environment, include gypsum board horizontal recycling to differentiate it from other recycling methods. Gypsum board raw material is generated in the desulfurization process of coal-fired power plants, but this source is expected to decrease, leading to potential increases in manufacturing costs. A system is needed that provides one-third subsidies for horizontal recycling facilities and recycles raw materials back into gypsum board rather than using them for soil improvement. If an annual subsidy of around 5 billion yen is continued for about 10 years, Japan’s gypsum board recycling rate would approach nearly 100% for the first time in the world. ④Introducing subsidies, establishing clear rules, and strictly enforcing penalties for noncompliance would be effective. Other: Develop systems for subsidies and incentives.

Challenge 4: No established network for collecting small, dispersed resources

4-1:Aspects perceived as problematic

① If collection is assumed, it may be highly inefficient in terms of cost, environmental impact, and productivity. ②Many products are incinerated, yet customers are demanding the creation of recyclable systems.

4-2:Proposed solutions to address these challenges

①Strengthen collaboration beyond private businesses, including cooperation with local governments and administrative bodies.

Challenge 5: Differences in interpretation of resource recycling/waste management among local governments

5-1:Aspects perceived as problematic

①Government support is essential, but subsidies, etc., are paid retroactively, making it hard for new organizations or groups to cover the minimum operating costs at startup. ②Building a city-wide recycling scheme requires verifying legal compliance for each local government, which is cumbersome and poses a high barrier. ③There are differences in how each local government leader values resource recycling within their vision or future-oriented plans, which sometimes hinders progress. ④Even when citizens wish to join the recycling process, varying and complex collection systems in each local government often result in improper resource collection and utilization. ⑤While there is high demand for recycling plastic waste, each manufacturer uses different plastic specifications, making unified processing difficult and increasing the time and cost required.

5-2:Proposed solutions to address these challenges

①Establish support, such as “initial operating funds,” that can be used at the startup phase. ②Simplify the application process for ministerial certification related to recycling, make registration for transporting collected materials easier, and lower the bar for obtaining ministerial certification, making it more accessible. ③Standardize best practices domestically and provide educational learning opportunities via clear regulations and incentives to reduce disparities between local governments. ④Make collection systems straightforward so citizens can easily join the recycling loop. Concretely, visualize how collected resources return to the community (e.g., generating biogas from food waste for use in city buses). ⑤Encourage compliance with standard system designs.

Challenge 6: Inability to create products using locally available recycled materials

6-1:Aspects perceived as problematic

①Legal frameworks are needed to facilitate cooperation across the entire industry.

6-2:Proposed solutions to address these challenges

①Private businesses and organizations capable of leading the industry should collaborate on solutions.

Challenge 7: Issues with the quality or quantity of materials under consideration for recycling

7-1:Aspects perceived as problematic

①Upcycled products cannot surpass existing products in terms of quality and cost. Efforts to change consumer awareness are needed, and individual company efforts have limitations. ② Confidence in using products made from recycled materials requires a certain quality level and stability, which may be lacking. Even high-quality recycled materials have limited supply.

7-2:Proposed solutions to address these challenge

① Encourage proactive consumer behavior change through national policy initiatives and efforts to influence consumer consumption patterns. ②Establish infrastructure that consolidates and highly sorts recycled materials lacking in consistent quality or stability to ensure a stable, high-quality supply.

[Survey Overview]

| Purpose

The survey aimed to understand members’ views on the operation of Resource Recycling Council, as well as current conditions and challenges related to resource recycling promotion.

The results of this survey will be utilized for Policy Making by the council and for discussions within its working groups. We thank everyone who participated for their cooperation.

| Target

All 147 members, sponsors, and Observers of Resource Recycling Council (as of the end of May 2024)

| Number of Responses

47 (response rate: 31.97%)

| Survey Method

Online

| Survey Period

May 17 to May 31, 2024