Garbage Collection in Japan / Recycling

[akatsuka]

Im doing a University project on recycling in England, and wanted to use Japan as an example, but I am unsure if its the best example... Let me explain!

In London, recycling your rubbish is optional. There are random recycling bins and dumps located in random places, not always easily accessable to everyone, and not always open at realistic times. (My dump opens 10-4 weekdays, so even if I wanted to recycle my rubbish, I cant as I'm at Uni 9-5...) Even though 90% of household rubbish can be recycled, the reality is that Londoners hardly recycle 10% of this. Our rubbish gets put into overflowing landfills, sent to China to pollute the atmosphere and generally help to increase the risks of Global Warming. It isnt hard to recycle, it just takes some organisation, and once the routine is set, and everyone does it, it becomes the norm.

In Japan, I was impressed with the rubbish collections and the fact you had to recycle your rubbish. If you dont, the collectors shouldnt collect it... (although they still do...) How hard is it to have 2 bins in your kitchen - one for burnable, one for unburnable? How hard is it to kep all your newspapers and papers together to be recycled? How hard is it to throw out all your bottles/cans together? All it needs is a few bags and a little organisation... and a good memory to remember what collection is happening when!

When I first got to Japan, recycling my rubbish was a pain. I didnt understand what went with what, why the dustmen had to come everyday, and it was a general hassle for me, I was often scolded by my hostfamily for putting the wrong rubbish with the wrong things. I had never recycled rubbish before. But, once I got used to it, it became the norm, and once I got back to England, it felt really odd putting that can in with the rest of the trash, or putting plastics in the same bag as food waste...

What do you think of Japanese garbage recycling? Does it work? How about your home country? Are things better recycled there? (Im only talking about household rubbish)

Also, if anyone could take a picture of one of those signs on lampposts indicated what rubbish is collected on what days or any photos of japanese rubbish / rubbish bins .... PLEASE POST THEM HERE!!

You'll be doing me a great favour.

Thanks

[GomiGirl]

we have 5 rubbish bins in our kitchen... you do get used to it.

All the stuff is put into separate areas of the "gomi room" for the building.

It makes you take out something nearly everyday but with the houses so small it is a great way to keep tidy.

Australia has a good system too - every household has two rubbish bins - one for general stuff and one for recyclables.. the recycle bin often has dividers inside for newspaper and cans etc. The bins are put on the street once a week. The truck that comes around picks up the bins with a big arm and it is deposited into separate parts of the truck so only one truck driver is needed. In Japan it seems to take at least 3 guys to collect the rubbish.

[DrP]

unfortunately, there's no evidence that japan actually utilizes recycled waste, and in fact, generally all the waste is simply burnt in the high temp incinerators regardless of the contents. (according to an ex-gf's pop who happened to be the mgr of of one of the incinerator plants). so - business as usual in japan -- tatamae vs, reality. eat - consume - die. avoidance - appology - suicide. there you have it. don't believe me? look at the dioxin levels in japan which are largely generated from hi-temp incinerator plants burning, ummm, recyclable plastic and inorganic products.

[Taro Toporific]

unfortunately, there's no evidence that Japan actually utilizes recycled waste...

[SIZE="7"]AMEN. Right and righteous DrP! [/SIZE] In Kanagawa Yokohama everyone is required to separate non-burnables into plastic/glass/alum/steel, but in fact burnables and non-burnables are ALL just dumped in the landfills when available (60% of the time) and other times plastic is burnt when incinerators are used. Less than 0.0000001% of the plastic and glass is recycled in Kanagawa (public garbage collectors send one 100kg bale of plastic once a month to a recycle firm so Kanagawa can claim they are recycling). The stores like Seiyu, that collect used milk cartons for 'recycling' actually just send to them to Seiyu distribution center where it's then thrown out. Grrrr.

What is worse is that the 'famed' Japanese incinerators are C-R-A-P compared to German tech. Generally speaking, the whole Japanese approach to garbage is a tatamae scam --- all the praise you have read about Japanese collection is cruel joke.

--- Taro (disclaimer: family members on the Agency for International Development, public health and sanitation group )

[akatsuka]

ok, ok, i know its fucked gaijin, and its hard to give praise to japan for you guys.. and maybe what you say is true... but... i dont really want to dig that deep on Japan... i'm more concerned with how japan 'seems' to be recycling rubbish (even if they are not).

what do you think of the system they have in place? Would it work if it got carried through correctly? How much of an inconvenience is it to you?

thx

[6810]

[canman]

I went to Yamada Denki today to buy some stuff and had a bunch of batteries that I wanted to get rid of. Took them to the desk near where they sell their own batteries and asked them to take them, as I was in the process of buying some more. They informed me that I had to pay 10 yen per battery. Which I refused to pay, as I had a bag full. Of course now if every store starts to charge to take in dead batteries, nobody or very few people will take them, they will end up in the regular burnable garbage, releasing dioxins as they get burned. Wouldn't it make sense to just take the batteries and pass the cost onto the makers. What do they do with these old batteries anyway, does anybody know?

[Samurai_Jerk]

In Kanagawa Yokohama everyone is required to separate non-burnables into plastic/glass/alum/steel, but in fact burnables and non-burnables are ALL just dumped in the landfills when available (60% of the time) and other times plastic is burnt when incinerators are used.

It seems like Chuo-ku has given up to a certain extent. My office is there and now pretty much anything is considered burnable except glass, metal, and PET bottles.

[FG Lurker]

Wouldn't it make sense to just take the batteries and pass the cost onto the makers.

...the cost of which would end up increasing the retail price of the batteries.

[TennoChinko]

In Tokyo and many other parts of Japan, if you look closely, there are a white unmarked trucks that helpfully pick up sodai gomi ( oversized garbage - which includes old electronics, appliances, and even furniture). These unmarked trucks are staffed by North Korean residents of Japan who loyally collect & transport whatever salvageable items they can for shipment to North Korea.

They are also quite mobile and entrepreneurial. After the Niigata earthquake, they managed to mobilize themselves even faster than official fund-raising volunteers, and for the first few days, dominated collections at places like Shibuya station. Two days after the real fund-raisers (with identification tags) drove out the North Koreans - but not until they had raised a good chunk of change for Dear Leader.

[ttjereth]

In Tokyo and many other parts of Japan, if you look closely, there are a white unmarked trucks that helpfully pick up sodai gomi ( oversized garbage - which includes old electronics, appliances, and even furniture). These unmarked trucks are staffed by North Korean residents of Japan who loyally collect & transport whatever salvageable items they can for shipment to North Korea.

They are also quite mobile and entrepreneurial. After the Niigata earthquake, they managed to mobilize themselves even faster than official fund-raising volunteers, and for the first few days, dominated collections at places like Shibuya station. Two days after the real fund-raisers (with identification tags) drove out the North Koreans - but not until they had raised a good chunk of change for Dear Leader.

Errr the white trucks by me in Tokyo are owned by the recycle shop around the corner, which is Japanese owned/operated, and they collect anything salvageable then clean/repair it and sell it in their shop. Same thing when I lived out in the boonies.

[GomiGirl]

How can I find one of these white trucks?

I am stuck with a butt ugly sofa bed that needs to be gone tomorrow. The person who was supposed to take it backed out. I am stuck...

The Ward office has closed so I can't call the sodai gomi office and salvation army has a month waiting list.

Any suggestionss - please help....

[omae mona]

I got a great pointer from a friend a few months ago. Large furniture is NOT sodai gomi. Not if you have a nice big saw, anyway.

[GomiGirl]

Actually got somebody to come take it away quite cheap. Saved me a heap of hassle.

The sofa is foam and really not possible to cut, burn etc. I was thinking of trying to dump it in the middle of the night hoping that some needy person would take it but knowing my luck I would get charged with littering.

[dimwit]

Maybe I have a bit of a diseased mind, but my solution to the problem would have been to stuff the crevices with worn-out underwear and sell it secondhand to a sex shop who could promote it as a sofa of love.

[GomiGirl]

Underwear - who wears that? I would have to steal some to do that. good idea though.

[Visitor K]

unfortunately, there's no evidence that japan actually utilizes recycled waste..

shit. dont tell that crazy guy who just stabbed 17 people in akihabara that!
according to this wiki page he commented to a keitai message board that, "...I'm lower than trash because at least the trash gets recycled." if he knew the true fate of his recyclables, it might just send him into another hissy fit.

[succubusqueen]

Actually got somebody to come take it away quite cheap. Saved me a heap of hassle.

The sofa is foam and really not possible to cut, burn etc. I was thinking of trying to dump it in the middle of the night hoping that some needy person would take it but knowing my luck I would get charged with littering.

well this is an evil idea..but i did dump all of my sodai gomi at tsukuba daigaku...on the other hand i know that some students might want to recycle (use) a lot of the good furniture i threw away...just a thought...but it did work since daigakus do throw a bunch of stuff..