Health and Global Policy Institute’s Planetary Health Team submitted a written opinion on the draft of “The Fifth Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society” by the Environmental Regeneration and Material Cycles Bureau, Ministry of Environment.

A “sound material-cycle society” is a society in which the consumption of natural resources is conserved and the impact on the environment is mitigated as much as possible, based on the prevention and reduction of waste generation, the proper cyclical use of resources and the proper disposal of wastes. As stated in the “Sixth Environmental Basic Plan” approved by the Cabinet in May 2024, a shift to a sound material-cycle economy and society, together with a net-zero and nature-positive economy and society, is essential to realizing the well-being of each individual citizen and the entire world in the present and future.

In June 2000, the Basic Act on Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society was promulgated and enforced as the fundamental framework for promoting the formation of a sound material-cycle society. In addition, the Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society was established based on this act in order to comprehensively and systematically promote the policies for establishing a sound material-cycle society. The plan is to be reviewed approximately every five years, and discussion is now underway for the formulation of the fifth plan.

Key points of the public comment

• The Sixth Basic Environment Plan introduces the concept of planetary health, which focuses on the linkage between human health and the global natural environment. Since the promotion of a sound material-cycle society also leads to the improvement of human health through the reduction of environmental burdens, including waste, it is necessary to emphasize the planetary health perspective in this draft plan as well.
• In particular, the resolution “End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument” adopted by the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022 states that environmental pollution caused by plastics has a negative impact on human health and wellbeing. This is consistent with the planetary health perspective and should be recognized in this plan.

Relating to this area, HGPI hosted the Planetary Health Expert Meeting “Aiming for Sustainable Healthcare: Learning from the Impact of Environmental Pollution and Medical Waste During the Pandemic” on February 16, 2024. At this meeting, multi-stakeholder discussions were held, focusing in particular on the broader impacts of medical waste and environmental pollution. Taking into account, among other things, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the discussions aimed to explore the potential changes that the healthcare system could undergo in the future.

For more information on this public comment, please click here (only available in Japanese).