Most of quake debris still awaits disposal

TOKYO, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Eighteen months after a devastating earthquake and tsunami, most of the debris left in the aftermath has yet to be cleared, Japanese officials say.

Some 80 percent of the estimated 24 million tons of disaster debris remains to be disposed of, Jiji Press reported Tuesday.

Japan hopes to dispose of 53 percent of the debris by March 2013 and 100 percent by March 2014. That projection is based on the expectation of improved capabilities for incinerators and the hope that more cities will accept the refuse.

The task is complicated by the large amount of disaster debris that cannot be burned. In Miyagi, one of two prefectures affected most directly by the Fukushima earthquake, the number of temporary incinerators will be increased from 17 to 29. Those will burn the bulk of the debris.

However, 420,000 tons of debris there can't be burned. The government is asking cities outside of the impact area to accept truckloads of the material.

In addition, it's expensive to separate unburnable debris from burnable. Large fishing nets are also mixed into the debris, and are difficult to untangle and remove.

In March, Tokyo estimated more than 4 million tons of disaster debris would have to be disposed of outside the disaster areas.