culture Life

Garbage disposal in Japan

It’s been quite decades since the separation of household garbage was started in several communities.
By now almost all communities have established the full set of rules on garbage management and put them into practice rigorously.
For new comers to the community, the chart and list will be given which tells you how to separate items correctly and how to dispose them properly.
Unsorted disposal is not allowed or they will be left uncollected.

Garbage is chiefly categorized into 5 groups

Burnable garbage, non-burnable garbage, plastic, over-sized garbage, and recyclables such as cans, bottles, glasses, batteries, papers in different types, used fabric and so on are separately collected.

 

You must use the designated garbage bag

Usually, there are designated garbage bags per community which you will have to use when you dispose anything. They are available at the local market. The purchase amount will be a contribution to a part of the garbage management cost.

The bags have different colors according to the type of garbage so that if you put wrong item in wrong bag, it notifies easily.
Those are the reasons why you cannot just use any shopping bags to pack your garbage in the name of recycling of plastic bags.

 

You must keep by rules

Collection date, time and route are elaborately arranged per area. So garbage disposal against that schedule is absolutely restricted to avoid smell and/or a mess by being left uncollected in time.

After the garbage is collected by the truck, the collection site will be swept clean by the residents to ensure that nothing had left behind.

 

For example

How to divide garbage from resources in Kyoto city.

 

Community management

There are some communities collect recyclables on purpose to raise some money, instead of let them collected by the city authority for free of charge. They want to use the money raised to make their community better. People in a good community cooperate for better community that makes them love their community more.

  • この記事を書いた人

Tamaki SAITO(西東たまき)

Born in Tokyo and raised in Chiba prefecture. I'm excited to reveal the Japan's life behind the scenes that you can hardly learn from the regular sources. Let me hear how far it worked from your side!

-culture, Life