Situated near Osaka city on a man-made island, the Maishima Incineration Plant boasts a striking design crafted by the late Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a Viennese architect and environmentalist.
Among his world-renowned masterpieces are two iconic waste disposal facilities: one in Vienna Austria and the other in Osaka, Japan.
With a vivid exterior that resembles an amusement park, the Maishima Incineration Plant draws about 12,000 visitors a year.
It showcases Hundertwasser's passion for integrating technology, ecology, and art by creating a structure deeply rooted in the local environment, observers say.
He also incorporated curved lines into each shape and used bold hues: green to harmonise with nature while the red and yellow represent the combustion of flames -- mimicking what takes place inside the plant.
The use of waste incineration plants is Japan's main tool to handle its garbage. There are more than 20 waste incineration plants in Tokyo alone.
The incineration plant in Maishima began its construction in March 1997 and was completed in April 2001.
The waste-to-energy facility is busy, disposing of up to 900 tonnes daily and generating a maximum of 32,000 kilowatts per hour, equivalent to Universal Studios Japan's power consumption.
Some 6,000 kilowatts are consumed internally, with the remainder available for sale to local power companies.
The Maishima plant stands as a model for zero waste management in Japan, playing a pivotal role in realising the city's Expo 2025 vision, centred on showcasing the planet's ecosystem and environment.
"Our technology remains cutting-edge. To date, we have maintained a pristine record, with no pollutants released into the environment," said Okumura Hirotsuku, a plant official.
"All waste and hazardous chemicals are contained within the plant. Hazardous substances like dioxins and sulfur dioxide are treated at 400C and are never discharged into the environment," Mr Hirotsuku said.
"Waste management in Japan relies heavily on household segregation," he said.
Garbage is typically sorted into three categories: burnable, non-burnable, and recyclable items.
Most households and public areas have at least two separate bins and clear guidelines for waste segregation are provided.
At the Maishima plant, the process starts with garbage being deposited in a waste pit and then conveyed by a waste crane to a heat-drying site.
After drying, it is incinerated on the combustion grate and transformed into ash on the burn-out gate.
Bulky waste is crushed before being fed into the incinerator. This process reduces waste to just 1/20th of its original volume.
The remains undergo further processing; iron and aluminium are separated using a magnetic separator for recycling. Non-toxic ash is either transported to landfill sites or repurposed into construction materials.
Japan places a big emphasis on waste reduction and recycling, mandating household segregation of trash into different categories for proper disposal and recycling.
Organic waste, including food scraps, is composted or used as animal feed.
Jatuporn Buruspat, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, highlighted local efforts in waste management.
Despite a consistent annual household waste production of about 27 million tonnes in Thailand, less than half is adequately managed.
He said implementing waste incineration facilities could help tackle the waste issue, though public cooperation is needed, given the strong opposition from local communities.