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Disposal of the debris could take up to 19 years to complete, even if many sites throughout the country are used, because of the long process needed for reclamation work, the ministry said Feb. 28.
However, it said the period would be shortened by actively recycling the waste or building temporary incinerators.
“It is indispensable to increase the percentage of recycling to curb reclamation,” said a ministry official.
The ministry’s calculations were based on the amount of debris, garbage and mud produced when the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, as well as the subsequent disposal achievements. The ministry factored in houses that could be inundated by a tsunami or destroyed by fires, in addition to current disposal capabilities of garbage incineration facilities and refuse landfills.
In the case of a Nankai Trough earthquake, the largest amount of waste--322 million tons of debris and garbage and 27 million tons of mud--would be produced if it occurs between Suruga Bay off Shizuoka Prefecture and the area off the Kii Peninsula, the ministry said.
Although 85 percent of the waste from the Great East Japan Earthquake has been recycled, the ministry expects a smaller percentage following a Nankai Trough earthquake, with more of the debris incinerated or reclaimed.
In such a case, it would take 31 years for the Shikoku region to complete the incineration of that waste using only the area’s available facilities, the ministry said.
It also found that it would take as long as 142 years for the region to reclaim the waste at current landfills in the vicinity.
If disposed of in various places around Japan, incineration would be completed in seven years and nine months. However, reclamation would take 16 years and three months to 19 years and four months.
The ministry also carried out calculations for
If only current incineration facilities in the region are used, it would take three years and 10 months to complete the disposal process.
However, that time would be reduced to two years and six months if temporary incinerators on the same scale as those used for the Great East Japan Earthquake are built.
If the detritus is also disposed of in other regions, the period would be further shortened to one year, the ministry said.