To achieve sustainable future development in Japan, the most pressing issue is to withdraw from a mass production, mass consumption, mass waste economic system and to create a sound material-cycle society.
In order to create a sound material-cycle society, many recycling laws have been enforced in Japan. These include, for example, the Fundamental Law for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society, Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, Home Appliance Recycling Law, End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Law. Many kinds of plastic recycling technologies have developed for the smooth implementation of the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law.
This paper introduces the present state of plastic recycling, newly developed plastic recycling technologies, and a study on plastic waste treatment and disposal using the LCA technique known as Eco-efficiency Analysis.