ABSTRACT
The development of a circular economy is an effective way to reduce resource consumption, reduce waste discharge, and protect the environment. On the other hand, Material Flow Analysis (MFA) is the basis for national planning of circular economy building.
Japan is an advanced country that introduced the Material Flow Analysis (MFA) indicators earlier. Japan passed the Basic Act on Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society in May 2000. With the said Act as the basis, the “Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society” was set up. In addition, based on the MFA results, the government's future development goals were set. In the plan, three main indicators, namely, resource productivity, cyclical use rate, and final disposal volume, were adopted to disclose the situations for input, recycling, and output of resource in Japan's sound material-cycle society. Through the quantitative tracking of material flow in the region, various evaluation indicators of resource input, product output, and waste discharge in the region were accurately grasped, which facilitated the country's formulation of circular economy development policies and measures.
This paper shows some sketchy judgement on the advantages and disadvantages of Taiwan and Japan's circular economy developments in the recent decade through relevant data collection method and a comparative analysis of the empirical data of three material flow indicators, namely resource productivity; resource recycling; and final disposal volume. Following the comparative analysis for the main indicators of Taiwan and Japan's circular economy, it was found that Taiwan indeed falls far behind Japan in terms of circular economy development. Japan is an advanced country with the highest resource cyclical use rate and the fastest circular economy development. As the saying goes, “An advice from others may help one's defects”, by learning Japan's circular economy development mode, it just may enable Taiwan to quickly enter the realm of a circular society.
