1
Exploring Tokyo Bay
Present problems and future prospects of Tokyo Bay
3. Disposing of waste in Tokyo Port
YOKOYAMA Hidenori, Tokyo Waste Landfill Management Office, Chief of Facility Section
History and present state of waste disposal sites
Waste has been dumped into Tokyo Bay
since 1927. The first site was the No. 8 Waste Landfill
located in Shiomi, Koto Ward. Fig. 1 shows the
locations and sizes of waste landfills and the tonnage
of landfill waste.
The
23 wards
of Tokyo
generate
non-industrial waste, such as incineration ash and
nonflammable waste that has been subjected to
intermediate treatment. Medium- and small-size
businesses generate industrial waste. Water and
sewage treatment facilities generate sludge. All of this
waste is sent to the Waste Landfill Outside Central
Breakwater and the New Sea-based Waste Landfill in
line with established acceptance criteria.
Fig. 2 shows the tonnage of waste that is
sent to landfills each fiscal year. The figure was
170,000 tons in 1948. It gradually increased to
3,420,000 tons in 1979, the highest amount during the
survey period, but improvements in garbage disposal
facilities and recycling reduced the amount to about
1,230,000 tons in 2003.
The waste management services provided
by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) were
transferred to the 23 ward offices in April 2000. The
waste landfills constructed and managed by the TMG
are used for final disposal of the waste.
1. No. 8 Waste Landfill
• Start of landfill operations: 1927 • Completion of landfill
operations: December 1962 • Size of waste landfill: About 36.4 ha
• Tonnage of waste: About 3.71 million tons
2. No. 14 Waste Landfill (Yumeno Shima)
• Start of landfill operations: December 1957 • Completion of
landfill operations: March 1967 • Size of waste landfill: About 45 ha
• Tonnage of waste: About 10.34 million tons
3. No. 15 Waste Landfill (Wakasu)
• Start of landfill operations: November 1965 • Completion of
landfill operations: May 1974