The Environment Ministry is considering setting up a special institution to facilitate local government work to handle waste left by big natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons.
The institution will help local governments quickly collect and dispose of large amounts of disaster waste, a type of work in which many local governments have no experience.
A ministry expert panel will discuss the details and reach a conclusion as early as this fiscal year.
The institution will act at the request of disaster-affected municipalities, providing support for administrative procedures and operations to place orders, coordinate with related companies and supervise the implementation of specific projects.
It will also coordinate the allocation of human resources to disaster areas, matching staff from other municipalities and engineers including from private entities with the needs of the afflicted areas.
During non-emergency times, the institution will advise local governments working on disaster waste management planning and agreements with private businesses regarding cooperation in the event of a disaster.
When a major disaster strikes, local governments need to address the demolition of collapsed buildings and debris removal regardless of whether they have experience in doing such work.
The ministry sees the need to support local entities lacking such experience to ensure that disaster waste is removed speedily.
The idea of setting up a special institution to support disaster waste management by local governments was included in a report by the expert panel released in March.
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