Japan Guide To Trash and Garbage Disposal.

Konbanwa!

Today is Thursday and every Thursday it’s my oyasumi(holiday)! Yay!

But…

My Thursday routine consist not only of futon day (futon-bed) but also of cooking bento for the next 2 days, doing the laundry, sleeping, cleaning the house, vacuuming carpet, going to the supermarket, sleeping, doing yoga, sleeping, watching movies and the most crucial thing to do-throwing the garbage. It usually take 2 hours of my time sorting and arranging my garbages. But it is really fun.

Since Japan has highly organized garbage disposal system, I find it hard to follow at first, but I’m getting used to now. I also learned self discipline in throwing my own trash because I know that I will suffer in the end (from sorting out I mean). And maybe when I come back to Ph I would do the same. So I decided to share some of the things I learned here.

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When you move to Japan, the first thing to do is go to the City Hall and register as a resident, they will give you a guidebook and everything you will need to know is already in the book, take time to read and be guided.

The Guide Book also includes the county’s guide to trash and garbage disposal.

Waste are separated according to categories:

1. Recyclables: paper, glass and cans

2. PET bottles: recyclable bottles with the PET symbol. At first I thought they were bottles that pet used lol or anything that animals used.

Trivia: Petto Botoru (Pet Bottle) is the generic Japanese term for drink bottles. PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate. the plastic from which they are made and has nothing to do with pets.

3. Combustible waste: non-recyclables that can be burnt (kitchen waste, grass, wood, used kitchen towels)

4. Noncombustible waste: non-recyclables that cannot be burnt (metals, ceramics, styrofoam)

•4. Bulky waste: furniture, appliances and other items that cannot be placed in a garbage bag (refrigerator, car, washing machine, etc.)

Remember that throwing bulky waste is not as easy as moving it outside the house, you have to call the City Hall and schedule for pick up, they’ll put stickers on your items and that’s when a special truck will pick it up.

Disposal bags are semi-transparent, allowing garbage collectors to see whether the contents have been correctly sorted.

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So every time I usually start with sorting out papers and plastics from my room garbage can. Don’t worry because my garbage can is really clean because I always take time sorting and cleaning them before throwing. Di sya gaya ng basurahan ko sa pinas na hindi ko kayang kalkalin kasi halo halo lahat haha.

I have to rip papers off before disposing. I learned it from school.

Then I proceed with separating cans, bottles and PET bottles. I also have to remove caps and labels. Kapag basura na daw, tanggalan na ng label. Charot.

Don’t forget to wash and flatten you bottles.

After that, I gather everything and put them in the proper waste plastic bag.

Tadan!

They’re all set now and I just have to wait for the schedule date of pick up. Tomorrow is Friday so it’s combustibles sched. I don’t usually throw pet bottles every week since I seldom buy bottled water or drink, so I have to put them in the box and throw every 2 months.

TIPS:

1. Have different garbage cans (I have four: plastics, papers, kitchen wastes and bottles).

2. Sort and clean everything before throwing (like after eating i.e bento, wash the plate and take off the price tags and papers before throwing away)

3. Be patient.

4. They are actually checking every garbage and if you happen to break the rule and didn’t follow the rules, THEY WILL FIND OUT and they will send you a warning to MOVE OUT. So beware.

Realizations:

I realized that this kind of system is really great and it’s really good not only for the environment but for the community. I just hope that every country should do the same and let’s all save mother Earth.

Discipline starts within ourselves. Naalala ko lang na sa pinas lagi natin sinisisi gobyerno medyo tanito medyo ganyan ng hindi narerealize na simulan muna natin sa ating sarili.

Patience is a virtue 😂

How about you? What garbage story do you have?

Sa Tagalog, anong walang kwentang kwento meron ka? Haha

Bored Sensei.

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