What to do with all those wrecked cars and debris?

Part of the cleanup includes collecting all the cars that have been scattered everywhere by the tsunami waters. Some cities have resorted to stacking them up three of four high just to get them out of the way. Other cities have decided to not stack them but instead to line them up on the level out of respect for the owners who may want to retrieve items from the car, etc. In this situation, the city looks up the owner by the licence plate number. Then they send a letter to notify the owner and ask for permission to junk the car. However, many of these letters come back because the owner's homes were destroyed or the owner had to evacuate and can not be found.

It will likely take at least three years to clear up all the debris left from the disaster. It is estimated that the total volume of the debris will take up the space worth about twenty years of usual garbage collection. So it is a dilemma where to put all of it. Many places are working hard to separate the debris for recycling or burnable disposal. Other places are making plans to use the debris to build up a better sea wall to protect communities from future tsunamis.