The way computers, cellphones, stereos, printers and copiers were being disposed of previously was to simply add them to a landfill without reusing salvageable parts.

Trash is taken very seriously in Japan, where since the 1990s the government has made it a national goal to shift away from landfills, reduce waste and promote recycling.

The broiling temperatures have affected a roughly 30-acre area, where putrid gases and hazardous liquids have burst through the surface of the landfill.

"Low value, low quality and unsustainable tech is piling up in landfills, and it's good to see government doing something to tackle that."

They leach into the soil from landfills, have been spread on farms in fertilizer sludge, and eventually end up in waterways.