Export of Recyclable Materials and the Japanese Recycling System: The Case of Used Plastic Bottles

Abstract

In recent years, the increased export of recyclable materials from Japan to Asia, particularly to China, has raised questions regarding Japanese recycling system for containers and packaging, which had assumed no transboundary movement of these materials when first implemented. Facing significant outflow, the Japanese government added the policy to the revised law to encourage local governments to transfer used plastic bottles to designated recyclers who process them for domestic manufactures of final products. However, it is questionable whether such a policy is beneficial as well as sustainable. This study attempts to provide an answer to this question by constructing a simple model of plastic bottle recycling and conducting a positive as well as a normative analysis of the export of recyclable materials in the context of increasing import demand and international market fluctuation.