JAPAN. A debris sorting site at Rikuzen Takata. January 18th, 2012.
Removing, disposing and recycling of the debris generated by the magnitude 9.0 quake-driven tsunami are crucial parts of the recovery process as the people in the devastated region move forward with rebuilding their communities.

In Rikuzentakata, REMATEC, an Osaka-based company specializing in waste management, leads the consortium that sent out hundreds of workers salvaging recyclable materials. All the operations began in September 2011 and will come to an end in March 2014.

The program consists of three parts: sorting out, removing useless items and recycling. For example, a piece of wood is washed with water, converted into a pile of wood chips and becomes the raw materials for fuels that will run the local industries.

Since a recent controversy over radiation safety of the debris generated by tsunami, the workers check up the radiation levels every day, despite the fact that it is located quite far from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant (more than 150 kilometers).
In August 2011, a plan to use pines from Rikuzen Takata, that were toppled by the tsunami for Kyoto's traditional Daimonji Bonfire festival, was halted due to concerns over radiation. Called Gozan Okuribi [literally "five mountains send-off fire"] and associated with the Buddhist festival of the dead known as Obon, these fires are intended to pacify and send off the spirits of departed ancestors and loved ones.
Later, Kyoto City made a plan to use other pines from Rikuzen Takata, but the plan was definitely abandoned when those pines were found to be radioactive - 1130 becquerels per kilogram in samples of bark. This vacillation triggered furious criticism from across the country.