As documented in this interesting article in the Christian Science Monitor, residents of the tiny Japanese town of Kamikatsu have achieved a staggering 80 percent recycling rate. This should give California something to shoot for.

“This is a town singularly focused on banishing waste – all waste – by 2020. The 2,000 people of Kamikatsu have dispensed with public trash bins. They set up a Zero Waste Academy to act as a monitor. The town dump has become a sort of outdoor filing cabinet, embracing 34 categories of trash – from batteries to fluorescent lights to bottle caps.”

The article also profiles a forward-thinking Toyota Prius plant in Nagoya and a successful cellphone recycling operation, illustrating Japan’s attempts to achieve a zero-waste goal.

What are you doing to increase diversion in your area?

There was a nice piece on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition on Monday about the plight of municipal recycling programs dealing with the collapse of recyclable prices. Some of the subjects interviewed say there is a need for government subsidies to sustain recyclers through the recession so the infrastructure will still be there afterward. Others suggest requiring manufacturers to use more recycled material.

How is your firm handling the recycling bust? Is government intervention needed?