Waste Incineration: From Land waste to Air Pollution

Continuing my previous post, we have seen how the Japan government is burning plastic waste in order to generate electricity. This is part of the resource recovery plan of the country. However, burning plastic releases a range of harmful pollutants, one of which is dioxins. To control flue gas emissions standards for dioxin and particulate matter emission has been tightened, since January 2000 (see Table 1) (Ministry of the Environment, 2012). To meet compliance, all incinerators are to be designed in accordance with the Waste Management Law guidelines. This includes the use of bag filters and electrical dust collectors to treat the flue gas. Since then, there is a steady reduction in the amount of harmful gas (such as dioxin) that is emitted into the environment (see Table 2). For example, the total amount of dioxin released decreased greatly from 1300 g in year 2001 to 110 g in year 2007.

Table 1: Dioxin Emission Standards (Source: Ministry of the Environment, 2012)

Table 2: Total amount of dioxins released from waste incinerators in Japan (Source: Ministry of the Environment, 2012)

Though measures are in place to control air pollutants from waste incinerators, carcinogenic dioxins will still be released into the atmosphere. In my opinion, this is more environmentally destructive than burying the waste. Primarily because air pollutants are highly mobile, it is tough to confine air pollution.

According to the World Health Organization, dioxins are persistent environmental pollutants with a half-life of 7 to 11 years. This toxic compound can bioaccumulate and biomagnify in food chains, and is stored in the fat tissues of the body. More than 90% of human exposure to dioxins is through the food supply, mainly meat, dairy products and seafood. When accumulated in the body, dioxin can cause reproductive and developmental problem, and even cancer. Much research has about the impacts of this endocrine disruptor on our environment has been done, and most of the findings suggest that the damage done is irreversible.

Since dioxin from waste incinerator is a public health threat, I would discourage the Japanese government from burning too much waste plastic. Efforts on source reduction should be done instead of seeking ways to clean up the waste. The connection between excessive packaging, land pollution, air pollution and public health concern must be made to the people to demonstrate the repercussions of wasteful consumption. From my past posts, we have understood how culture is the root cause of most environmentally unfriendly practices in Japan. Hence, I believe that education is the best tool in addressing those cultural issues in a sensitive and respectful manner. 

References

Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan,. ‘Solid Waste Management and Recycling Technology of Japan'. N.p., 2012. Web. Retrieved from http://www.env.go.jp/en/recycle/smcs/attach/swmrt.pdf

Plastic Waste Management Institute, ‘An Introduction to Plastic Recycling’. N.p., 2009. Web. Retrieved from https://www.pwmi.or.jp/ei/plastic_recycling_2009.pdf

Who.int,. 'WHO | Dioxins And Their Effects On Human Health'. N.d. Web. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs225/en/