The 3R Dream Plan encourages behavior change and coordination between residents, businesses, and the city government in order to increase recycling and reduce waste.

The Yokohama 3R Dream Plan teaches manufacturers to use recycled and recyclable materials during production and urges businesses to sell eco-friendly products and services, which will lead to less resources imported and used and, ultimately, wasted. Residents are encouraged to participate by managing their household waste, reusing plastic bags and water bottles, and supporting environmentally friendly businesses. Residents are engaged by invitation to tens of thousands of resident briefings, more than 2,000 campaigns at collection points, and hundreds of campaigns at train stations.

29,000 tons of CO2 reduced each year since 2013 through waste reduction efforts

Cities100 – 2015

The city has already reduced waste 45% from a peak of 1.61 million tons due to city-wide measures such as thorough sorting, to avoid burning recyclables, and recycling. By undertaking these efforts, Yokohama aims to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% in 2025.

The challenge

Rapid economic development and urbanization have caused explosive population growth in Yokohama. The city is now constrained in terms of resources and will soon run out of land for depositing the ash from waste incineration. This situation left Yokohama with only one option: reduce waste through increased reuse and recycling city-wide.

Co-benefits

Economic As Japan has limited physical resources and must import many of the materials used in the waste incineration process, extensive recycling is a prerequisite for future growth in Yokohama.

Environmental By urging residents to collect their kitchen waste, the city has managed to convert one year’s worth of kitchen waste into enough energy to power 170,000 households for one day.

About Yokohama

Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan by population, after Tokyo, and the most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, and is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area. Yokohama’s population of 3.7 million makes it Japan’s largest city after the Special Wards of Tokyo. Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan’s prominent port city following the end of Japan’s relative isolation in the mid-19th century, and is today one of its major ports along with Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Hakata, Tokyo, and Chiba.

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