We can’t just burn all our waste

I REFER to the article “Aiming to be ‘zero waste’” about the efforts of the small Japanese town of Kamikatsu to recycle all its trash by 2020 (The Star, June 17; online at bit.ly/star_recycle).

It initially read like a gallant effort but further reading revealed that the recycling came about only because one of the town’s incinerator failed to meet stricter emission standards and was shut down. Recycling became a necessity as the easier option of just burning the rubbish was not there anymore.