is there anyone that would actually throw any figures away? sel em' atleast but regarding the recycling issue, it seems rather pointless, especially here where i live. There is 6 garbage containers (large ones) in which ya' hafta sort out paper, plastic and what not, but to my great shock! one day i stood on higher ground and noticed how they throw everything in the same truck! But one time I actually had to pay a fine for not recycling right, how is it japan danny? does it happen that someone might get a "postcard" by doing something like this? paying for it, that is
In singapore we have been burning all combustible waste since our incinerators uses the waste to provide energy on the power grid. Recycling is enviromental and energy intensive after all, so we have to see if there is benefit from recycling everything or recycling selective materials.
We recycle, but admittedly not as diligently as Japanese. We seperate cardboard/paper, plastic bottles, and glass. Then return them to recycle boxes or depot for return deposits. I have NEVER thrown a gundam away. They were too friggin expensive to get, so I doubt that would ever happen. They just go into their boxes and get stored. Even more so with figures.
The term "recycling" is practically unknown to most people in my area >_< Oh well.. we don't separate trash and such... at all. Anyway tetrflare, you're right, recycling is energy intensive, which means it requires a lot of fuel, and produces a lot of carbon and other toxins..
We have recycling services in Canada but I've learned that it's different province to province and more often city to city. Back home (Sherbrooke, Quebec) we could throw just about anything into the recycling bin and they'd take it and sort it for you. Here in Ottawa, they won't accept certain materials and the pick-up crew will actually leave it in your bin if you try to sneak it in with the rest. And we must also sort paper and non-paper recyclables as well (as they picked up on alternating weeks).
it's very refreshing seeing how japan recycles. in our country (philippines) people don't recycle.. that's why we have mountains of garbage everywhere. this is a very informative article sir danny.. keep up the good work! thanks!
On campus yes, we recycle seriously. I once threw out a bottle in the trash can and someone came out of their seat to yell at me and lecture me about recycling! I recycle regularly however the convinience was not there (I was in the middle of a class and the room was packed). I sent out roughly 400 bottles between myself and my roomate to the recycling program here at Penn State. Most of the bottles were water bottles (Fruit20), milk jugs and soda bottles. I always threw the caps away too: its pretty much one cap fits all sizes. It's doing the Earth a good favor. I now regularly keep old batteries instead of chucking them in the garbage. After I collect a huge cardboard box worth of them (in a couple of years, if not decades) I will have them disposed properly. For my modeling I recycle my scenery: I was doing this just an hour or so ago. As I sprinkle on, in this case snow, After the cement has set I shake off the excess snow, then angle the newspaper in a funnel shape so I can reuse the scenery that fell off. It saves me money and cleanup. I also dispose of my toxic chemicals properly (woodworking, metalworking, models). I pour hazardous materials into old laundry detergent bottles my mom needs disposing of. I keep the materials locked away and sealed. When the time comes, due to the nature of my dad's occupation he can have them disposed of properly. Re-using things is great and everyone should do it. It cuts down on how much garbage I have to take out and it helps the environment.
To tack on to my previous comment I never throw away old models despite if they were a screw up or not. The complete mess-ups I keep for kit bashing parts. Even the trees have applications- as an applicator, more importantly a paint mixer or they can be melted for rigging (ship lines). As for completed kits- I never throw them out. I will either send them off by giving them to relatives/friends or I will contact a few local hospitals to see if a child needs something like a really neat toy to look at. I almost never get a refusal. If I need money, I will auction it off and get a fair price for it =D. Flea markets are not only great for this but shows as well (military expos, weaponry expos, model events, etc).
I believe the people here recycle but most of the time everything is thrown away, as it is easier. I commend those that stand in the hot sun to recycle their cans to get 5 cents back though. I myself recycle as much as I can, like looking around for a recycle bin/can to throw my soda can in but sometimes it might just be easier to throw it in the normal trash can.
I don't consider myself a die-hard, tree hugging hippie/green peace environmentalist activist but i do recycle whenever i can, i like the whole idea of not generating too much waste and contributing to the efficiency of waste management.
We recycle diligently in my household. I make a point when we have parties to make sure everyone throws the recyclable materials where I can put them where they need to go. We have a recycling can (its a large, wheeled bin) which we can throw all recyclable items into: Glass, plastics, paper, and so on. I dont mind doing this, as we usually only have to put the trash and recycling out 1 time a month (when it gets full). No one else I know actually does this though. I feel guilty throwing cans or bottles in the trash. As far as throwing Gundams away, I usually give them to my cousins or some such if I dont want one anymore. Id rather someone have them then throw them out. The sprews though, THOSE I throw out. They take up so much space, and are basically useless. I have used some for scratch-building, but with so many models, I dont need the extra. Bandai should figure out a better method of doing this so there isnt as much waste.. actually, I heard they were going to do just that.
hah, gather your junk, throw it to the bin, the garbage man will differ which junk which not, and unrecyled junk burned all the way. thank's to that, its burning hot here
Recycling is just beginning in Brazil. We already have some cities trying to make a move on it for some time... but most of the times, what we have is only some sort of educational effort. Because on most cities, we don't have facilities to deal with recycled stuff, or it's more expensive to have one. Brazil doesn't exactly have a problem with lack of space. But my city at least has a separate day and separate service to recycled garbage collecting. Problem on my city is that though sometimes the politics here means well, they don't know how to do things and end up spending tons of money on nothing. Earlier this year they came up with a plan to get recycled stuff from neighborhoods that the recycling collectors didn't reach. So they installed these huge recycling trashcans on strategical parts of the city. Didn't work. Couple of months later, they just quietly gave up and removed the trashcans.
in america everyone recycles every house gets a recycling bin for collection thats collected every 2 weeks, we also get a bonus for recycling too or something like that and a federal tax deduction
I honestly don't know if I'm recycling or not. Sure I put the things in the correct bins and everything, but what happens after that? And why do they take the separated recyclables and throw them all together into the truck? I just try to focus more on reusing and reducing.
"in america everyone recycles every house gets a recycling bin for collection thats collected every 2 weeks, we also get a bonus for recycling too or something like that and a federal tax deduction" This is entirely false. My parents live in a rural community, and recycling is not enforced there. All garbage is combined, with no separation. Where I live in the city, recycling is enforced, and there are no bonuses or tax deductions allowed just because you recycle. I honestly feel recycling wastes resources and pollutes more than it helps (IE: Make Work jobs, exhaust from vehicles sent to collect separate recyclables, increased public works fees, and on and on...) The only exception to this recycling rule is metal cans. It actually costs less and save resources to recycle metal cans than it does to dig up the raw materials to make new metal. You can look this information up online. It's out there. See for yourself.
does this mean that the japanese government will cut down in recycling? we practice recycling only recently and not as diligently as the japanese and there are still a majority who doesn't practice it >.> but the Philippines is taking the right road to an eco-friendly country ^__^
"in america everyone recycles every house gets a recycling bin for collection thats collected every 2 weeks, we also get a bonus for recycling too or something like that and a federal tax deduction" Maybe in California pal. Here in Ohio we get jack shit. You give a very false description of America's recycling habits. In cities and suburbs many people have plastic bins given by the city or the waste disposal company the city has a contract with. They put cans and bottles in that plastic bin and place it in front of their home every week on a designated pickup day. It is not mandatory, not everybody participates in it. Some people just throw that stuff away with the rest of their garbage. In many rural areas people burn their own garbage in a 55 gallon metal drum or other type of fire pit or they take it to their local dump, most of which have a dumpster for recyclable stuff. In some cases like aluminum cans people will save a bunch and take them to a scrapyard where they can get money for them. Some homeless people gather up all the cans they can find to make a bit of money.
Germany has seperate bins for the different kinds of disposals. Theres the yellow one for plastics, glass and such. Usualy the products which have such a packing have a "green dot" symbol to show that t hey have to be put in the yellow bin. Then there isa blue one for paper, a grey for the usualy house trash (kind of a mixed bin) and a green one for garden stuff, like mowed lawn, flowers, etc. pp. Though the colours can differ among the Bundesländer(like 'states' somewhat). not every state has the green bin for example either. IF the trash isn't sorted propperly, as for example to much paper in the yellow bin, or even foodleftover trash, the junk people which come weekly to empty them won't take em with them and put a sticker on the bin which tells you that it's wrong filled. They mostly indicate this due the weigth and a short view inside.
i never recycle stuff. so sue me!!
There is NOTHING which is placed inside plastic, that cannot be placed in a recyclable container of some sort. Paper, metals and glass can all be recycled and reused, plastic cannot without serious byproducts also being created. So why not just pass a law that all products which don't HAVE to be made in plastic, such as baby toys be made with something else? Then as the rate of impneding doom turns from 20 years to 50, those gyus at the universities can find a way to get rid of the rest and win themselves a nice scholarship. Everyones happy. All companies who comply will be given tax breaks. The money saved on recycling plastics from before will be what they don't have to pay. All companies save the government 10,000,000 bucks, GREAT, they all get an equal amount of tax breaks from that which they saved the people. Doing it won't be cut and dry, but it's a simple plan and it fixes the problem. Then, any space left would be spent on imported plastics they just couldn't stop. But that's probably a hell of alot less then what is used daily for any modern country...
@ Smokie. HAHA Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. I read the first paragraph in your post and thought you were off your rocker! I have lived in Vegas for bout 24 years, east coast for 4, Japan for a couple and now in Cali for 2 years, and I think Japan is the ONLY place that *actually* recycles. We have the recycle bins here in Cali, but only some people use them. Plus, once they are full [if they ever get that way] everyone just throws their stuff in the regular trash regardless. I guess the problem is that we americans use and throw away more "stuff" then probably any other country. When I lived in Japan I would *just* fill the small trash bin every few days before it had to be taken out. Here? I fill the big ass trash can in a week, almost always.
Here in Singapore, we have recycling bins for aluminium cans, plastic bottles, glass, paper and such located in coffee shop, food court, schools etc. Plastic bags are given to every household for putting in their recyclable materials and are collected weekly. On the first wednesday of each month, we are encouraged to bring our own plastic bags for shopping. If you don't, they'll charge you a fee for the bags. I do practice recycling although I'll be lazy and just throw everything away sometimes. I'll never throw, what's more to recycle my figurines even if you poke two straws into my nose.
Huzzah. This'll make my stay in Japan that much more enjoyable. I have always dreaded their overly meticulous obsessions with trash and recyclables.
i try to litter as much as i can. just becuase some thing that man built is pleasing to stupid humans doesnt mean its no litter. all of the damn roads what do you think all that shyt is. to me its litter. so what the hell i treat my city as my personal garbage dump, cuase thats what it all looks like. the way i figure it, the quicker humans dissapear from this planet the better for the earth to repair its self. as soon as we are gone things will go back to normal.
Ah. Great. The Garbage post. All I can say about this is that during my times in Japan, they ALWAYS return trash to our front door, with, of course a really polite note that said "you put one tiny piece of wood in this bag of rotten eggs, please take care of it!". On the f_cking doorstep. Gross. Pretty boring subject though, hey Danny why dont you write a post about Yakuza in Japan (considering it is the subject matter of countless mangas and animes)? Thanks.
i still have problem sorting out the garbage into different category.. kudos to the japanese for doing it so well
i'm always impressed at the way the japanese take their recycling seriously. in singapore most people has no habit of recycling. it's very sad when everytime i walk past a recycling collecting bin, i always see garbage inside. :-( for example when someone finish his/her drink, he/she will just throw the whole paper cup into the paper recycling bin. :-(
I worked in a recycling plant for a while, and people in Canada really don't watch what they put in their recycle! You find forks and knives, barbie dolls and old food all the time and then have to seperate it all.
I remember when I was in Germany for a month, I was wondering why some things cost so much and there are 2 prices. After awhile I learned that you have to pay more and will get back the difference when u return the glass/plastic bottles. That the extent of recycling there. In france there are different bins and people do use them actively. My relatives I stayed with will walk to a specific bin some few 100 meters away to throw the less frequently recycled items.
@gordon i though it's ok to do that -_-' i'll try littering the chemical 1st then, whenever i came to singapore
naw i'm not really into the recycle thing, the only thing i recycle are the soda cans (the rest i throw away cuz' i'm so fu&$#@ lazy -.-), but it's really interesting how they segregate the non-burnable stuff from the burnable in Japan (i didn't know about this ^^)
Here is normal to recycle everything thats is recyclable. Most of the items are made in order to be recycled later, this not only does recycling simple(you don't have to cut stuff or dry it) and the item made out of the recycled component is more cheap. Al the cities have recycling gathering centers(translated, something like that), were machinery and other kind of material that doesn't has a place on the small recycling places all hover the cities have, so that all the material is recycled. Everything has a use, even the normal garbage(fuel).
Here is a list of the bins colors:
* Green: glass
* Yellow: metal (cans) and plastics
* Blue: paper
* Reed: batteries
* Black: wood
* Orange: danger residues
* Withe: medical residues
* Purple: radioactive
* Brown: organics
* Grey: none recyclable material or contaminated material that is unable to be recycled.
@M3R30N3R, I live in Phx too, so stop being a child and pick up after yourself. If you want to trash something, trash your place. Theres no reason I should pay higher taxes because you are lazy and have such disregard for the rest of the human race. You think earth would be better without humans? Maybe some of them, which I guess by your actions you are included in. Dont like it? Then stop complaining and make a difference. @Dak Roland: LOL! I love when I tell people about NY and they always look at me funny when I talk about the forests and such. "Forests? In New York? .. In between the skyscrapers you mean?"... Yes, because NY is only as big as Manhattan Island.. sigh.
Never really took a look at Recycling. I just throw my stuff at the right garbage cans when ever I can.
I only recycle batteries, electonics and newspapers. Anything else is burnable, and as such will end up being burnt.
My first time in Japan I was not aware of this odd ritual of separating trash out as you through it away. That was probably the biggest cultural shock for me. I doubt you could ever get people in America to do this, we have a hard enough time just putting our waste in the trash.
I'm pretty up with recycling. However I'm not as the Japanese are when they wash their recyclables. I've never thought about it much but does it help when you guys wash it out Danny? Is there something behind that?
in Chicago they had a city wide recycling program until it became to expensive to maintain. which is why many municipalities don't practice it .
Also I read an article some 12 yrs ago about a technique used in Japan to turn solid organic waste into edible food complete with beef and chicken flavoring, has anyone heard of this process or what was it called?
I am happy to say I am dedicated to recycling. I, on the contrary of one guy here who *Holds breath* surely opened his mouth and uttered crap to create controversy and get some nice reply *Ends mini-rant* aim to waste as little as possible and leave the smallest negative impact on the environment. I always shake my head when I see garbage scattered randomly and recyclable stuff in regular bins. Not only I go for selective recycling, but I try to convert my parents to that whenever I come visit them (such as now). They recycle used batteries in an effective manner now, I'm glad... Next step for them will be to recycle used medicine. lol. Oh, before I forget... *Walks haphazardly in comical manner, gives Setsuna-san a honorary ticket and disappears again*
My mom and I recycle our garbage, though not to the extend of cutting a milk carton open and hang it up to dry (we do wash the inside). We seperate our trash into household trash (mostly plastics), "green" trash and paper (mostly cartons).
in the effort to seperate garbage... in the effort to use a sustainable architecture... in the effort to create a more green environment for the future...
Well... Garbage disposal is quite expensive here in Switzerland so people are motivated by money to recycle. Paper are collected once every two weeks and carboard once a month. There are many collection points for PET bottles (every supermarket has one) and collection points for glass and metal are widespread, too. Shops that sells electronics are obliged to take your old stuff since for a few years, you have to pay for the disposal when you buy elecronics. For all other stuff recyclable stuff, you have to go a recycling center. So either you recycle and save some bucks while saving the environment or pay the price of being lazy :)
I compost everything possible, and recycle the rest.
I love how loyal the Japanese are with their recycling processes. The Americans, especially Californians, will never be that diligent. For those who don't recycle - just start off with a paper bag for paper and regular bin for regular waste - you'll get used to it in no time. Then, start a bin for the plastic bottles. Have all three different types of bins together - and recycling will be much simpler. (I feel like a propaganda person) - anyway, recycling is really not that hard.
i do practise recycle at home...i separate paper & others...coz here usually the recycle bins are allocated for papers & others(plastic,tin can,glass bottle)..but i didnt go to the extend of cutting,washing,drying of milk boxes etc...too tedious..
I recycle newspaper and plastic bottles mainly to sell them to old people roaming the streets looking for non-biodegradable waste to sell to junk shops (which is their main source of living). Extra money + charity = WIN!
The Japanese waste management system is air-tight. You dont wanna mess with the people who take caer of your trash, believe me.. *shudders*
