Recycling Remade in Japan

摘要

It does not look good for the patches of greenery still left in Japan. On April ist, a new law went into effect requiring owners of discarded refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners and washing machines to pay as much as ¥7,600 ($61) to have their used goods taken away and recycled. The government says the law puts Japan in the vanguard of environmentally friendly countries. Critics say that, by caving in to the business lobby, Japan has made a bad situation worse. They say the country is about to disappear under a mountain of rusting metal as consumers avoid the fees by dumping their appliances illegally.