17.1 Addressing Global Climate Change Through
a Recycling-Oriented Society
A low-carbon society is desirable to both reduce CO 2 emissions and achieve
sustainability through maximizing resource use and minimizing environmental
load and emissions. Development of a recycling-based society is especially important as a measure to tackle global climate change.
The formation of a recycling-based society contributes to global climate change
countermeasures through the principle of the 3Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. First,
emissions of waste are reduced as much as possible, and then items are reused as
much as possible before being recycled. One example of this is the collection of heat
through burning waste to generate power, contributing to a reduction in greenhouse
gases. Modern civilization has evolved with the aid of mass production, mass
consumption, mass disposal, and mass pollution, all of which continue to increase.
However, environmental limits are becoming evident on a global scale. In order for
humankind to thrive, development must satisfy the needs of future generations while
also satisfying those of the current generation. This can be achieved by consideration
of the environmental waste purification function and the natural resource supply
function. As an alternative to mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal, a resource-saving and recycling-based social system should be constructed, in
which recycling activities are incorporated into the market. It is important to foster a
long-term perspective of the environment and resource conservation for future
generations and provide incentives to promote industrial structures, lifestyles, and
technological innovations that produce minimal waste. In particular, appropriate
social regulation is considered essential for building a resource-saving and
recycling-based society.
The ultimate goal of the East Asian Low-Carbon Community is global sustainability, and for that purpose it is essential to realize a recycling-oriented society
aimed at maximizing resource use and minimizing environmental impact. To prevent environmental destruction by collecting mineral resources, recycling exhaustible resources, and recycling environmental pollutants, both local and global
recycling can be used.
17.2 Concept of a Global Recycling System
17.2.1 Basic Concept of a Global Recycling System
The global recycling system is such that:
waste trade for the purpose of recycling must have been established along with arterial flow
(the arterial industry: production, distribution, and consumption). However, due to delays in
the development of venous flow (disposal, resource recycling, and final disposal) in developed countries, there are problems such as illegal export/import and the risk of
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W. Zhou et al.
a Recycling-Oriented Society
A low-carbon society is desirable to both reduce CO 2 emissions and achieve
sustainability through maximizing resource use and minimizing environmental
load and emissions. Development of a recycling-based society is especially important as a measure to tackle global climate change.
The formation of a recycling-based society contributes to global climate change
countermeasures through the principle of the 3Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. First,
emissions of waste are reduced as much as possible, and then items are reused as
much as possible before being recycled. One example of this is the collection of heat
through burning waste to generate power, contributing to a reduction in greenhouse
gases. Modern civilization has evolved with the aid of mass production, mass
consumption, mass disposal, and mass pollution, all of which continue to increase.
However, environmental limits are becoming evident on a global scale. In order for
humankind to thrive, development must satisfy the needs of future generations while
also satisfying those of the current generation. This can be achieved by consideration
of the environmental waste purification function and the natural resource supply
function. As an alternative to mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal, a resource-saving and recycling-based social system should be constructed, in
which recycling activities are incorporated into the market. It is important to foster a
long-term perspective of the environment and resource conservation for future
generations and provide incentives to promote industrial structures, lifestyles, and
technological innovations that produce minimal waste. In particular, appropriate
social regulation is considered essential for building a resource-saving and
recycling-based society.
The ultimate goal of the East Asian Low-Carbon Community is global sustainability, and for that purpose it is essential to realize a recycling-oriented society
aimed at maximizing resource use and minimizing environmental impact. To prevent environmental destruction by collecting mineral resources, recycling exhaustible resources, and recycling environmental pollutants, both local and global
recycling can be used.
17.2 Concept of a Global Recycling System
17.2.1 Basic Concept of a Global Recycling System
The global recycling system is such that:
waste trade for the purpose of recycling must have been established along with arterial flow
(the arterial industry: production, distribution, and consumption). However, due to delays in
the development of venous flow (disposal, resource recycling, and final disposal) in developed countries, there are problems such as illegal export/import and the risk of
308
W. Zhou et al.