 |
| photo credits: Around the World in 80 Jobs |
A jetsetting friend told me how Japan has the most "advanced" waste system. Citizens actually follow the the acceptable and "lawful" way of waste disposal. I'm using lawful because it's almost a crime not to follow the system.
When I first moved in to my place, the Japanese person who helped me had to ensure that I'm properly oriented with the Japanese waste disposal system. She took time to show me a chart of how to dispose household waste properly. She also accompanied me to a shop to make sure I buy the correct disposal bag. That's how serious they are with garbage.
In the apartment building where I live, a staff regularly sorts out the tenants' garbage. This is to ensure that the garbage collector will get our garbage. In Japan, collectors have the power to decide which garbage to get or not. If a garbage bag is too messed up (meaning not sorted properly) the garbage man can leave it. I've read some instances where residents would rummage through the uncollected garbage to know the criminal. That is, the uncivilized one who doesn't know how to sort his trash.
There's a stigma with foreign residents and garbage. From the internet alone, you can read numerous accounts of foreigners complaining that they were accused of being the garbage criminal, the uncivilized one. A close friend has personally experienced being subjected to scrutiny. There were only 4 units in her apartment building. She was the only foreigner. One of the residents knocked on her door a to return a garbage bag. It wasn't hers. But the old man insisted it was hers. She had to prove by pointing her garbage bag. This happened twice.
I guess you're beginning to see how strict the Japanese are when it comes to waste disposal. This doesn't mean you should start digging a compost pit and recycling things. Here's the simple truth about garbage disposal in Japan: it's simple but the Japanese just try to make it look complicated with all the colors and images on the waste chart they give to residents.
 |
| Japan's Garbage Chart |
I admit that I once feared of being called over for my garbage so I religiously ensure that I dispose my waste correctly. I even pinned the garbage guideline near my garbage bins. Overtime, I learned how simple it really is.
Sorting Your Garbage
Just like in other countries, you just have to sort out whether the material is degradable or not. Japan is just more detailed with what kind of trash goes to which bin.
1. Separate degradable to non-degradable. Non-degradable is mostly plastics.
 |
| The Garbage Bags photo credit: Rebel Without a Tan |
The Official Garbage Bag
Instead of a big black garbage bag, Japan uses a big clear bag. In Hamamatsu, we have an official garbage bag. It's a clear bag with Hamamatsu logo. Maybe other cities have it too. You can buy them from almost every shop.
I have an admission though, I don't always use the official garbage bag. If I have extra clear bags, I use them as trash bags. I don't know what to do with them. It would be a waste to throw them. So far, no one has
complained of me not using the official bags.
The Official Garbage Time
Not only do you have to sort your garbage or use The Bag, you also have to take out your garbage at the right time and day. Cities have varying collection days. In Hamamatsu, Tuesdays and Fridays are for biodegradable, Wednesdays is for non-bio and Thursdays is a bit vague to me. Sometimes, they collect bottles and cans and sometimes they don't. It's hard to tell with these Japanese.
But anyway, you're supposed to take out your garbage early morning of the designated collection day. You can't take your garbage when you feel like it or even if your house is overflowing with trash. Wait for the morning. Wait for the day. Don't be like my friend who was reprimanded for taking out her garbage at night.
Why can't we take garbage at night. The reason? CROWS. The noisy black birds that freely roam the skies and streets of Japan. They tend to go through people's garbage. These crows need some manners. Cats also tend to rummage garbage but they're not as many as the crows. It's really the crows that those garbage should watch out for.
The Noisy Garbage Collector
Appliances, furniture and other big items such as bicycles and futons are not supposed to be thrown out. Ideally, people give them to recycle shops. Or you have to call an official collector of big garbage items. They're private companies so you have to pay an extra fee. There area also collectors for big garbage that go around from time to time. They're incessantly noisy. They announce their services while driving around the neighborhood. You'd probably recognize them because they keep on driving around over and over again with their noisy announcements.
I personally don't like them. I respect their job but they're just so annoyingly noisy. And they usually go around on Saturday mornings when people are sleeping in! There was one Saturday morning when I went down, called out the collector and told him to go away. No one was calling him for his services. He's been driving around for more than an hour with his loud announcements of "We're getting your garbage!" He apologized and did not go around the neighborhood for a few weeks, thank God.
Recycling in Japan
Japan is the 15th country in the world with the most waste. They're number one in Asia with the most waste. I couldn't believe they beat China to it. But here's the thing though: Japan has high recycle rates.
Here's data from Green Answers:
In 2006, the recycling rate was 95 percent for steel cans, 90 percent for glass bottles, 89 percent for aluminum, 60 percent for paper, and 38 percent for paper containers for liquid.
In schools, students collect bottle caps. They then sell it to recycling companies. It's a school-wide campaign and from the tonnes of caps that I see every year, I'm pretty sure it's a successful one.
After lunch break in schools, students don't throw milk cartons and straws. They have to wash them then pile them together. Then, the school would endorse them to a recycling company. This is the system to all public schools in Japan. I haven't seen recycling as wide spread as this.
There's a word that expresses the Japanese concern about not wasting resources. It's "Mottainai." There's no exact English word that would capture mottainai's meaning. It can be "What a waste!" in regret for wasting food, materials and even time. It can also mean "Don't waste!" It roughly means "wise use of resources."
The Dirty Part of the Garbage
Japan is not perfect like any other country. They still have some waste disposal issues to address. There's the nuclear waste problem. There's also accusations that Japan is paying third world countries to be their dumpsite. (Tsk, tsk Japan) And then there's a growing number of hoarders in Japan. Some Japanese think they're still doing mottainai when in fact, they already have an unhealthy hoarding obsession. These are a few flaws of an otherwise perfect waste disposal system.
Japan has been accused of sweeping its dark WWII history under the rug. That is true and that is a topic for another day. But for now, I think Japan's doing great in keeping its waste.
