Shortly after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in eastern Japan, a Task Team for Disaster Waste Management and Reconstruction was established within the Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management (JSMCWM). One of the major tasks undertaken by the team was to create a manual entitled, Strategies for Separation and Treatment of Disaster Waste. In this paper, this JSMCWM manual is introduced, followed by a review of existing guidelines for disaster waste management in various countries. We identify useful guidelines created by international agencies, national and local governments. The JSMCWM manual adds our new experiences, especially characterized by a huge scale of disaster and tsunami information, to the existing knowledge with an emphasis on separation and subsequent treatment options. It should be desirable to share our knowledge and experiences, not only domestically but also with other countries in the world, especially regions that could be affected by large earthquake and tsunami events.

For 35 years, Kyoto City has conducted detailed household waste composition surveys under the guidance of Kyoto University by dividing household waste into approximately 400 categories. In addition, the city has conducted detailed composition surveys of commercial waste generated by businesses. These surveys show that food loss accounts for approximately 40% of total waste, of which leftovers and untouched food account for about 40% in both households and business facilities. Consequently, the annual generation of household and commercial food loss is estimated at about 30,000 tons. Various efforts have been made to reduce waste, including food loss, but further reduction in environmental burden is needed. Thus, Kyoto City revised the ordinance for waste reduction, and in March 2015, formulated a new municipal waste management plan. The plan not only includes the 2Rs (reduce, reuse), but also, for the first time in Japan, sets quantitative targets for reducing food loss. Kyoto City must ensure that the necessary waste reduction measures are clearly explained to the residents and business operators. To ensure that this plan is successful, it is important to clarify concrete actions that residents and business operators should implement, along with their effects.

In Japan, fisheries’ product has decreased since the 1980s, and the government amended the fisheries law in 2020 to shift to managed fisheries. However, awareness of seafood sustainability is still low. This study identifies the reason for the low awareness and states the necessary actions to increase sustainable seafood consumption. The proactive stakeholders in seafood supply were surveyed to determine the current status of sustainable seafood sales. Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishers and MSC’s Chain-of-Custody certification holders answered the questionnaires. Fishers showed a positive attitude, citing proactive sales channel expansions and contributions to sustainability. Distributors were primarily passive, mainly because they obtained the certification at the request of their clients, and about half of them did not disseminate information between consumers and suppliers. Both fishers and distributors expect the government to promote campaigns and education. The stages of the awareness of producers, intermediary trade, and retailers are different and did not align. Therefore, if the supply chain stakeholders proactively educate themselves, choose sustainable products from the fishers, and pass the sustainability information to the consumers, sustainable seafood consumption would progress.