February 8, 2024

Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste

It is important to evaluate substances from the perspective of whether or not they are hazardous waste, but once they are found to be harmful or similar compounds are found to be toxic, it must be disposed of by either not producing such substances or by detoxifying them. In addition, we humans are protected by living organisms, so we must act with an awareness of the need to protect them (i.e., not dispose of toxic substances in the natural world).

『The creation of hazardous waste in the first place is a threat to the natural world. Nothing can be disposed of in nature without detoxification for the convenience of human. It goes without saying that it is only natural to dispose of waste after rendering it harmless and non-toxic. In fact, if we don’t think in terms of a system that allows production only after a path to detoxification and non-toxification has been established, there remains the possibility of causing unexpected problems.』

『I also believe that the non-toxicity must be for the entire living world, not just for human beings. We need to protect the beautiful earth in order to preserve life. I think this is the responsibility of the human race, which is at the top of the food chain in the biological world.』

『The idea that “if by some chance a threat is created, it is not a problem as long as it is released into other countries and not into our own (or, conversely, as long as it is within our own country) is also wrong. If we leave harm to the earth (and the universe), there is a high possibility that it will adversely affect something somewhere else. I believe that if we once again remember the fact that we can only survive not only because of humans but also because of the many lives that support us, human behavior will naturally change.』