Beppu City has entered into a basic agreement with Osaka-based waste treatment company 大栄環境 on the treatment of rubble and other "disaster waste" generated during disasters. 大栄環境 entered the disaster waste treatment business following the Great Hanshin Earthquake and has also handled waste from flood damage in Kyushu.
Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, has entered into a basic agreement with Osaka-based waste treatment company 大栄環境 on the treatment of "disaster waste" generated during disasters. The agreement establishes a framework for responding when the city cannot handle the situation on its own following a major disaster such as a Nankai Trough megathrust earthquake.
大栄環境 entered the disaster waste treatment business following the Great Hanshin Earthquake and has since handled waste from events including the 2018 torrential rains in western Japan and last year's flood damage in Kagoshima Prefecture. The company has 34 treatment facilities nationwide and similar agreements with more than 200 local governments. This is the first such agreement entered into by a local government in Beppu.
Beppu City estimates that a Nankai Trough earthquake would generate approximately 179,000 tonnes of disaster waste. Meanwhile, the Minamihata Inert Waste Landfill Site, the designated final disposal facility, is said to have capacity for only around 20,000 tonnes. Under the agreement, 大栄環境 will support removal, collection and transportation at the city's request, establishing a framework for treatment at the company's facilities.