The Environment Ministry has compiled a bill aimed at boosting the collection of chlorofluorocarbons used as coolants in business appliances, officials said Saturday.
The proposed revision to the 2001 law on CFC collection and disposal would require certification documents to be exchanged between companies that discard CFC-containing devices and the firms that collect them for disposal and those that mediate the transactions, the officials said.
It would oblige firms that repair and maintain the devices to handle them with care to prevent the global-warming substances from entering into the atmosphere. This comes in response to cases where CFCs have not been properly removed from such appliances in the collection process.
The bill, which would allow the central and prefectural governments to order companies to report on their collection efforts and conduct inspections if necessary, carries fines of up to 500,000 yen for violators.
In fiscal 2004, 2,102 tons of CFCs were collected from discarded business-use electric appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators and freezers. The figure is estimated to account for only 30 percent of all CFCs contained in such dumped devices.
The Environment Ministry hopes the new measures will help raise the rate to the government-set goal of 60 percent, which has been set as part of measures to achieve Japan's obligations under the Kyoto Protocol on curbing global warming.
The ministry envisions the Cabinet adopting the bill in early March for submission to the current ordinary Diet session so it can come into force in fiscal 2007.