The Diet enacted two laws Friday obliging businesses to reduce garbage output, promote recycling and be responsible for the final disposal of their waste.
The House of Councilors approved by majority vote a basic law aimed at creating a society based on recycling and legislation to revise the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Law, following their passage earlier this month through the House of Representatives.
The basic law, aimed at promoting a shift to reduced waste output from an economy marked by mass production, consumption and disposal, will put priority on curbing waste emission, reusing and recycling products, and disposing of them properly. It also obligates manufacturers and other businesses to restrict their output of waste, develop products that will not easily lead to waste and take back used products for recycling or disposal.
The government will compile a basic plan on waste reduction by 2003 based on guidelines submitted by the Central Environmental Council, an advisory panel to the Environment Agency, and review it every five years, according to the enacted legislation.
The law calls for the government to present a white paper to the Diet every year on the implementation of waste reduction measures in the basic plan.
The revision to the waste disposal law also requires waste producers to ensure their waste is properly disposed of and spells out penalties for inadequate waste management.
It prohibits the burning of large amounts of construction materials outdoors.
Under the revision, anyone who provides land in mountains or forests, along with the party that dumps the waste, can be held responsible for the removal of the trash.