Living near an incinerator (Tokyo)

I’m going to be moving soon and I found a few decent-looking places, but then I realised they were near one of Tokyo’s many waste disposal facilities.

I asked my Japanese friends about this, and none of them seem remotely phased by this at all. Apparently the emissions are heavily filtered and the energy used to power the sports centres nearby. And to be fair, the website shows how this is done, and the air quality is constantly measured and the results put on the website. And I’m aware Japan has very strict standards about these things, and the Tokyo air quality is (relatively) high for a big city. You can even go and look around the facility – apparently they even host school trips!

There’s a hospital nearby too so it can’t be that bad, I’m sure. But intuitively living next to an incinerator doesn’t seem like a good idea health wise, so I’m considering apartments a few kilometres away too – it looks like you are never more than a few kilometres away from one of them in Tokyo haha.

What do you guys think? Do you live near one?

9 comments
  1. How is the rent/house prices nearby? If it is significantly cheaper, then it probably won’t be an enjoyable experience.

  2. > And to be fair, the website shows how this is done, and the air quality is constantly measured and the results put on the website. And I’m aware Japan has very strict standards about these things, and the Tokyo air quality is (relatively) high for a big city.

    I mean, there you have it. Whatever reservations you have are purely in your own head. If you’re imagining “incinerator” to be some big smoky dusty gross facility, then perhaps go have a walk around the block where it’s located.

  3. I lived close to shinagawa incinerator and had no idea it was even there I saw it on the map one day. I have super sensitive lungs and didn’t notice bad air down there personally.

  4. I would be worried about the smell of the garbage coming in, particularly in summer. I did some work near an incinerator in Saitama and the smell was pretty bad and there were flys everywhere.

  5. You answered your own question, if the air quality is perfect(ly identical to the rest of the area) and there’s no noise, it means nothing

  6. Actually living closer to it make you safer from the pollutants as they have tall gas stack and anything emitted will disperse with wind. If anything, you should check the garbage truck’s route, whether that will be disturbance to you especially in summer where it gets smelly.

  7. There is a incinerator plant in Meguro next to the river. Literally surrounded by million dollar apartments that want to live by river and cherry blossoms

  8. Didn’t even notice what it was when I lived in Hikarigaoka. Live near small factories now and definitely not drinking from the tap.

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