Japan has agreed to provide Myanmar with technology to help sort and dispose of organic waste, according to a memorandum of cooperation signed by the two countries in Naypyidaw on Monday. The process of separating various types of waste is expected to mitigate pollution and disasters such as landfill fires.
“It is fundamental to dispose of [organic] kitchen waste by segregation if we want to adopt Japan’s garbage system. If rubbish is separated and sorted into categories, garbage trucks can collect it by waste type. This system will be gradually and effectively implemented, though there are still some weaknesses,” said Kyaw San Naing, the director of policy and legal affairs at Myanmar’s Department of Environmental Conservation, upon the signing of the agreement.
“We will quickly learn to effectively manage [our garbage] from Japan’s 20 years of experience,” he said.
Organic waste poses a number of environmental threats when not disposed of properly. In April, Yangon’s Htein Bin landfill spontaneously caught fire and burned for several weeks, releasing toxic fumes from burnt plastic and other materials into the air and poisoning dozens of people. Experts attribute the combustion to heat generated by the decomposition of organic material deep underground.
Modern waste disposal systems generally keep organic waste out of landfills to prevent such disasters. Instead, organic waste should be composted or recycled as biofuel or fertilizer.
Japan has already provided Myanmar with one waste-to-energy factory, located in Yangon, and there are plans to open another six.
“We must cooperate practically,” said Japanese state minister for the environment Tadahiko Ito, as quoted by the Myanmar Times. “I hope that through the concerted efforts of our two countries, we can lay down a sound environmental conservation policy.”
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