Recycle Japan
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44)
Mon 2007/04/09 15:04
I had to get accustomed to a life of recycling after living in England for 27 years where I would just throw out crap in one huge bag.
Its not exactly tough but it can be a pain when you have a ton of (smelly) rubbish to be collected.
This is a sign showing what type of rubbish is collected and when. Taking this location for example, Wednesday and Saturday is combustible (burnable) rubbish like fish bones, moldy apples, jawa meat and other burnable stuff. Combustible rubbish is usually called Nama Gomi (生ゴミ(なまごみ)).
Tuesdays is for resources like cardboard, paper, tin cans and glass bottles. Finally Thursdays is for non-combustibles (non-burnable) material like metal, plastic and your best friends Dell. Non-combustible rubbish is usually called Moenai Gomi (燃えないゴミ(もえないごみ))
Three rubbish facts:
1. Milk cartons have to be cut flat, washed and dried before it can be thrown out with the rest of the cardboard and paper.
2. If you are feeling poor, you can walk around the neighborhood on Resource day and pick up a ton of manga that has been thrown out.
3. If you want to throw out something big like a bazooka or old TV, you need to call the local ward office and arrange for a time for them to pick up stuff from outside your house. Before they come however, you need to buy a sticker to stick on your large trash. To throw away an old TV for example costs about 300 yen. This is one of the reasons why some of your relatives in Japan tell you that they pick up free electronic items from the streets - they are not lying ^^;
The Japanese take recycling very seriously here and if the rubbish collector notices some plastic in your combustibles, he will try to find out who it belongs to (addresses on envelope etc) and leave it outside your door with a note asking you to separate the rubbish properly. Not happened to me before but they got my previous neighbor all the time - smelly gits.
Its not exactly tough but it can be a pain when you have a ton of (smelly) rubbish to be collected.
This is a sign showing what type of rubbish is collected and when. Taking this location for example, Wednesday and Saturday is combustible (burnable) rubbish like fish bones, moldy apples, jawa meat and other burnable stuff. Combustible rubbish is usually called Nama Gomi (生ゴミ(なまごみ)).
Tuesdays is for resources like cardboard, paper, tin cans and glass bottles. Finally Thursdays is for non-combustibles (non-burnable) material like metal, plastic and your best friends Dell. Non-combustible rubbish is usually called Moenai Gomi (燃えないゴミ(もえないごみ))
Three rubbish facts:
1. Milk cartons have to be cut flat, washed and dried before it can be thrown out with the rest of the cardboard and paper.
2. If you are feeling poor, you can walk around the neighborhood on Resource day and pick up a ton of manga that has been thrown out.
3. If you want to throw out something big like a bazooka or old TV, you need to call the local ward office and arrange for a time for them to pick up stuff from outside your house. Before they come however, you need to buy a sticker to stick on your large trash. To throw away an old TV for example costs about 300 yen. This is one of the reasons why some of your relatives in Japan tell you that they pick up free electronic items from the streets - they are not lying ^^;
The Japanese take recycling very seriously here and if the rubbish collector notices some plastic in your combustibles, he will try to find out who it belongs to (addresses on envelope etc) and leave it outside your door with a note asking you to separate the rubbish properly. Not happened to me before but they got my previous neighbor all the time - smelly gits.
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I love living in Japan. I love it so much so that I *only* have one major...(more)
Thu 03/22 02:45 comments (79)
Policy & Research Officer
how would the rubbish collector find out where the guy live?! thats creepy
(ID #46368) Posted on 2007/04/10 02:34
Michael in KL, Malaysia
It's a good practise to throw the rubbish base on the categories. I would like to see my country's government will impose this rule to the whole country so that it can help to preserve the earth
(ID #46369) Posted on 2007/04/10 02:49
As for myself I do recycle stuff seriously (too bad the separation between each category of trash is not made in my region -lazy bums-). If I could do what you have to do every week, I would do it with pleasure, since I feel that no environment-friendly action is small enough. I almost have no combustible rubbish to get rid of, maybe in exception of some occasional banana skins. Lol, free manga and free electronic goods... But at least they get a second life. Nothing is wasted. Get back at you? Wow, talk about stalking ^_^ Danny, the greenie stormtrooper. That would make a nice title.
(ID #46370) Posted on 2007/04/10 02:53
we do hav separate recycle bins in sydney but people just don't seem to care as they often get them confused so just throw cans/boxes/etc. into the non-recycle bins anyways...
(ID #46371) Posted on 2007/04/10 03:08
Student Engineer
Our local area doesn't recycle seriously as far as I know, but the people I live with do recycle, and I make sure to sort any trash I have for recycling. Comes on wednesdays, and you have to sort by cardboard, plastics, newspaper (newspaper gets its own special bin). Saves resources, and it saves a tree or three from being cut down.
(ID #46372) Posted on 2007/04/10 03:11
ecchi student
Our region couldn't give a CRAP about recycling. I admire Japan's recycling program.
(ID #46373) Posted on 2007/04/10 03:22
We pratice recycling in our office... we still use the other side of printed papers for simple documentations. Its cost-efficient. I work in a japanese company btw. Hope to be sent to Japan for a project soon.
(ID #46374) Posted on 2007/04/10 03:28
anime/cosplay events organizer
my family practices recycling where old documents and cardboard boxes are cut and used as scratch papers ^^ i really wish that the philippine govt and the people would exercise recycling ~_~
(ID #46375) Posted on 2007/04/10 03:43
It's great that Japan is really serious about their trash, even though it can sometimes be a pain, we burn our garbage here
(ID #46377) Posted on 2007/04/10 04:00
Danny things have changed alot with regards to recycling here in the UK. Every household has been given one of those big green wheelie bins to dump their recyclable rubbish in. Though I hate it when the dustbin lorry arrives, always leaves a toilet stench in the air.
(ID #46378) Posted on 2007/04/10 04:03
Recycling? Here? HA! Yeah right, the people aren't even decent enough to stop littering. They spit all over the streets whenever they feel like it and throw their cigarettes on the ground without even stepping on it. I hate my neighborhood so much... Anyway, I do separate my garbage. Cats have a really fun time scratching through those bags and messing up the garbage cans...the next thing you know, you get a ticket for that. I will never like cats ever again...
(ID #46379) Posted on 2007/04/10 04:41
lol we don relli recycle here in hk we just get a big bag and throw it in da bin and wait for da truck to get it.
(ID #46381) Posted on 2007/04/10 04:49
Geek Liaison
We're pretty good about recycling here in California most towns like mine have some form of curbside recycling. Then there is the money to be made selling your aluminum cans. When I was in college there were alway homeless guys running around in the morning digging through the trash for cans and picking up the beer bottles the frat boy left laying around. It got so bad that the college had to lock the recycling bins around campus to keep them out.
(ID #46385) Posted on 2007/04/10 06:01
In the UK, i think recycling isn't all that bad, i mean there are ways it could be done better, but i think overall its pretty good. However, where i live, the recylce people, and the dustbin men (term for people who collect rubbish that i got used to xD) have started coming alot later, and now the recycle people only come once every 2 weeks, if they feel like it, and the dustbin men come late in the day so you spend half the day with nasty smelly rubbish outside your house -.-º On another note, I should be booking my holiday to Japan today!!! Hopefully i'll be going from 24th August to 30th August, i was aiming for october or december, but for various reasons they were a no go, so i was just wondering, what is the temperature like at the end of August? I looked up some mean temperatures on the internet, and the highest i saw was 27º but i wasn't sure about that, so maybe you could help? ^_^ Thankyou in advance, and happy recycling!
(ID #46386) Posted on 2007/04/10 08:23
Hey Danny, I couldn't find your email and I'm in a hurry to get to bed. I just found this just now and I was wondering if you've seen it. http://cgi.ebay.com/ONEGAI-PLEASE-TEACHER-SEXY-KAZAMI-MIZUHO-DESSERT-FIGURE_W0QQitemZ330103356667QQihZ014QQcategoryZ1345QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem I don't think you give permission to this seller use it and sell fake figures on ebay. Just letting you know. Corruption/Abuse these days...
(ID #46387) Posted on 2007/04/10 08:40
The recycling system in the UK is a joke - they take recycled rubbish one week and everything else the next, so it means that for two weeks, you have rat-attracting food waste festering in your bin before it's taken away. As for the recyclable rubbish, no cardboard will be taken if its got food on it, and they don't take glass. On the whole, crap!
(ID #46388) Posted on 2007/04/10 11:40
TNTPOP in Fransouze
I believe that the recycling system in France is a bigger joke than in UK (I read a few posts ...). Each person has to buy containers upon their own will, when full carry them by car to the main containers (because they are too far) and then get the personal containers back home (all dirty in my new Atenza). People are, in general, a little lazy so they don't really bother in putting things in separate containers so all goes in the main trashcan. We also have these recycling places where we can take all our random trash (plants, electronics, oils, ...) but there again, we have to take it by car. One place in france setup a system where each home user has a personal, locked, container that is weighed when the dustmen come to empty it and their local taxes are calculated accordingly (less rubbish = less taxe). That is a good idea that should be globalized but then I also belive the dustmen should also pickup even the separate containers (recycled).
(ID #46389) Posted on 2007/04/10 12:35
Web Developer/ウェブデベロッパー, Photographer/写真や
I like how Japan takes recycling seriously. I'm currently over in Australia on holiday and I like how people have to purchase Green bags for supermarketing instead of having to throw it in plastic bags. Sad thing is that back at home, people don't really care about recycling. So much for a green and clean country :/
(ID #46390) Posted on 2007/04/10 14:36
That's a interesting post, nice to see that people in Japan care about recycling. They tried to do something much simpler than that here in the city where I live but it didn't work because people didn't care about that and they would not separate the garbage, they would just throw everything in just one bag. In my house we separate the garbage according to the type.
(ID #46393) Posted on 2007/04/10 17:11
Everything
My apartment complex provides bins to seperate out newspaper and plastic containers, but it's voluntary. Nobody will knock on your door if they find plastic bottles in with the regular trash. They don't have anything to seperate out aluminum cans though, which is kind of weird.
(ID #46394) Posted on 2007/04/10 20:43
Troubleshooter, Universal Exports
Here in Michigan no, but when I lived in Florida we did recycle. We didn't separate burnable and non-burnable items. I wonder if any place in the state has that level of recycling... We had a blue plastic container called "Big Blue" for for plastic, glass and metal. As well as, an orange container for paper items. Come to think of it, we had to pay extra and arrange a pickup for larger items. Yes, If you messed up repeatedly with your recycling, the recycling collectors would leave you instruction on how to separate your recyclable trash.
(ID #46397) Posted on 2007/04/10 23:57
what happened to the darth vader suit? just wondering.
(ID #46399) Posted on 2007/04/11 00:36
Unemployed
in the UK you now have to recycle.
(ID #46401) Posted on 2007/04/11 01:19
Hi Danny, sorry to interrupt you with a problem, but if I want to look your past post about non-paint Gundam technics I just can see the the first up to the third pictures. So where is the rest? If I click "Read the rest of this post" or "[click through] to view all images" it's still show me the 3 pictures. Sorry if my English is that bad so that you don't understand me! Hope that you can fix the problem! Many Thanks! Greet Shin!
(ID #46402) Posted on 2007/04/11 01:39
CEO MIrai Inc
Shin222, Could you provide me with a url? Astroblue, Soon. TNTPOP, That sucks! Gav, I didnt know about the cardboard-food thing! Ken, Cant be bothered with them. But thanks for the heads up. Arekusu, That time will be very very hot indeed! Ken, You need some bear traps for the cats. Superoshi, I tie a knot in it.
(ID #46407) Posted on 2007/04/11 03:11
Jeff Lawson in Denver, Colorado, USA
When I lived in Tokyo, I always looked forward to recycling day, as it was the only time I KNEW I was doing the whole garbage thing correctly. Burnable and unburnable trash, I could never quite figure out, but determining if something was recyclable or not was almost always a piece of cake.
(ID #46418) Posted on 2007/04/11 06:54
Sure, sorry I forgot it! http://www.dannychoo.com/blog_entry/eng/585/Gundam/
(ID #46425) Posted on 2007/04/11 11:01
CEO MIrai Inc
Shin222, Ah - looks like you spotted a bug for me - will fix it soon (ish) ^^;
(ID #46445) Posted on 2007/04/12 03:26
CEO MIrai Inc
Shin222, Bug fixed! (and thanks for pointing it out)
(ID #46462) Posted on 2007/04/12 11:18
are there many people recycle while cosplaying in japan?
(ID #46472) Posted on 2007/04/12 16:06
At where I live, the only thing we recycle are plastic bags from shops as trash bags and there is an organization that collects old newspapers twice a month. Everything else is thrown away as garbage probably due to the lack of recycling bins.
(ID #46478) Posted on 2007/04/12 21:11
Gordon Pekeur in south africa -cape town-
No we try, but I dont see results!! It still looks like a shithole ... at least we play ok RUGBY!!
(ID #46565) Posted on 2007/04/14 18:19
Membrane in Somewhere in the USA
I seen similar in some US cites except I do not remember having to dry anything out they took care of that at the plant. The most advanced systems I seen was in Tokyo teleport town and in California a system that required no sorting on the consumers' part. All sorting was done via machines and workers at the recycling plant . The experimental plant in California also generated all it own power from trash that was burned in a gasification cycle incinerator. Also in most US cities there are places that will actually pay you for any scrap metals you need to have disposed of such as aluminum cans,old HDs if you remove the platters or that old set of stock heads,exhaust manifolds and water pump you replaced on your latest hotrod project. Basically anything aluminum ,steel/cast iron,copper, or brass
(ID #47000) Posted on 2007/04/25 02:17
The village where I live an coincidently the village where my girlfriend lives where the first locations to try a new recycling method. Not that its really different. Its just individual underground bins for Food, plastic and metal, paper and wood, glass and batteries and last one for "rebuig" which would be stuff from the hover or from sweeping. Problem is that the food bags are organic and in the summer they start to discompose after a few days.
(ID #61114) Posted on 2007/10/27 03:45
Part trooper, part -timer, 100% loser...
People don't seem to bother about recycling at all, they just find a rubbish bin and throw everything there... If they can't find a rubbish bin, then to the floor the rubbish goes... Japan sure is neat, are they any road sweepers there? We have a few here...
(ID #69469) Posted on 2008/01/13 03:04
People here make it a point to throw stuff on the road, even when the trash can is next to them and they know it is!!!
(ID #71282) Posted on 2008/02/02 10:06
In my country, there a few recycle programs that are currently running but the problems is people just don't have the will to follow them. A month ago there was an artical saying if we won't get used to recycling everything will be more expesive... I only hope that will change. I really admire Japanese people of what they are doing ^^
(ID #430070) Posted on 2008/12/31 04:08
My city doesn't care about the trash.People just take out the garbage and put them in any waste bin,well im a good guy and i sort my trash ^.^
(ID #454166) Posted on 2009/01/19 23:20
Student in PR & Marketing
I think recycling is a very big problem for many countries. The biggest problem I believe is that even though people want to recycle and understand the importance of recycling, the state doesn't provide the necessary organization for this purpose. I think this is the problem in Romania; only after the state will take all the required measures will the education of the citizens be of use.
(ID #492250) Posted on 2009/02/17 07:03
Missionary
hey, if it helps japan stay nice and pretty, i'd do it too!
(ID #496434) Posted on 2009/02/21 01:35
Otaku Programmer/Gamer/Artist/Photographer
We should all take recycling SERIOUSLY!!!! so we can save the planet so that there are more animes in the future!! instead of a dead world...XD
(ID #566741) Posted on 2009/04/17 02:10
Racer's Dream in In Circuito di Fiorano with an FW20 driven by Heinz-Harold Fretzen (Registered on 2009/01/27 11:40)
90's F1 Afficionate
Hong Kong has the biggest loittering fines ever existed to Jeesolyadeja You will end up fin'd over HK$10,000 if ya spoil the city that once was British Property till 97
(ID #566929) Posted on 2009/04/17 06:51
we should take example on Tokyo !!
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