What is the trash sorting schedule in Japan?

Question

I am doing a research paper on recycling and would like to know of the trash sorting schedule in Japan? I am aware that maybe not all cities in Japan have the same trash sorting schedules in Japan, but of the major cities like Tokyo and so on?
Also what is the penalty for people that do not throw the correct trash away?
How long has the trash schedule in Japan been going on?
I mean the trash sorting days like one some days its papers, plastic, etc?

Answer 1

I live in a city in central Tokyo (Tokyo is like a US state, rather than a city), and the trash collection schedule is as follows.

burnable trash (paper, leftover food, etc.): twice/week
non-burnable trash (plastic, metal, etc.): once/week
recyclable trash (cans, glass bottles, etc.): once/week
These are free.
This schedule started several years ago; before that, burnable trash was collected three times a week and recyclable trash was not collected separately.

bulky waste (items approx. larger than 1 foot a piece, such as furnitures and electric appliances): twice/month, pickup must be requested by phone. Costs 200 yen or more depending on the item.

Air condictioner, non-flat TV, fridge, washing machine: the store you buy a new one from is supposed to take the old one. Otherwise the local community will, by request (like bulky waste). Either way, it costs several thousand yen per item.
This system has started several years ago; before that, these items were treated as bulky wastes.

PC and display: The manufacturers arrange for pickup upon request. Costs around 3,000 yen per item, but for PCs sold after Oct. 2003, this cost is included in the price and no additional cost is necessary for disposal.

PET bottles are collected at supermarkets and some other stores.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I live in the country of a small town in Northern Japan. We have pick-up of recycled garbage on Monday, non-combustibles on every other Wednesday and combustibles on every Thursday.

The recycled garbage is in so many categories! But the ones I remember are: paper, plastic, PET bottles (no labels or lids), glass (all colors OK), cans (they sort aluminum from steel at the plant). We also save the pull tabs from aluminum cans for the school -- I think they trade them in to buy a wheelchair or something.

We have to buy garbage bags for the combustibles and non-combustibles -- and recyclable stuff may go into the non-combustibles, but it's frowned upon. The recycled stuff just goes in any old clear bag (shopping bags are OK -- we write which category of recycled goods on it with a marker). If you put the wrong stuff in a recycled bag, it gets left at the trash station. Otherwise, I don't think there's a penalty.

I can't remember when it started -- a couple of years ago, I think. There were recycling programs at grocery stores for many, many years, though.

Answer 3

every city (prefecture) and neighborhood has their own specific trash sorting schedules and rules...i heard when I moved here that within Tokyo there are 68 different systems.
people are fined if they don't throw trash away or try to get rid of it improperly.
our system here in one small part of Tokyo is burnables on Mondays and Thursdays, plastics on Tuesdays, bottles every other Wednesday, cans and metals on the opposite wednesdays and recycled clothing and cartons or boxes on Fridays. Anything bigger than about 30 centimeters you have to pay to have removed...go to the convenience store, pay the money and attach it to the item and put it out on the one day a month they come.
otherwise, you beg your friends to take the junk you don't want.
it's a nightmare, basically.

Answer 4

I don't remember the exact year we switched this garbage schedule. I think it was in the late 1990's. Previously we had two catagories, burnable and nonburnable.
The trash sorting schedule is different in every city. There are different procedures, trash bags, and penalties, at least in Yamaguchi Prefecture. I do not know about the trash system in Tokyo. In our city you have to buy government issued clear trash bags. They publish a trash calendar telling which days each of the 10 major categories are picked up. Some of the smaller categories like batteries, light bulbs, and pottery have incidental dates that coincide with regular pickup days. If you make a mistake, such as not removing a label from a tin can, the garbage men won't pick up your bag of trash from the corner and they place a label on it saying what was wrong. (We call them “nasty grams.”) I suppose the punishment is that your neighbors will see you going to get your rejected bag of trash.
Here is the 2007 trash schedule for the different neighborhoods in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
http://www.city.iwakuni.yamaguchi.jp/cgi-bin/odb-get.exe?WIT_template=AC020000&WIT_oid=icityv2::Contents::1978
Each neighborhood is issued a printed calendar with all the specifications of what can go into each category and what has to be done to trash before it can be thrown away. Some examples of trash preparation are:
Cans and bottles must be washed
Labels must be removed from cans and bottles
Bottle caps must be removed and placed into the Hard Plastic category while the bottle itself goes into the soft plastic category
Plastic grocery bags, candy wrappers, and other loose cellophane plastics must be tied in knots before disposal
Aerosol cans must be emptied and punctured (with a nail or other sharp object) before disposal
Recyclables (newspapers, cardboard, magazines) must be stacked and tied with the government issued white paper string.
If you want to throw away a large item that won't fit in the garbage bag you have to buy a garbage tax sticker and stick it on the appliance and arrange a special pickup. These items can also be disposed of by taking them directly to the dump and paying the tax, or by paying an electronics store to take it.

I don't remember the exact year we switched this garbage schedule. I think it was in the late 1990's. Previously we had two categories, burnable and non-burnable.

In the city of Hakari, Yamaguchi Prefecture the government issued garbage bags are made of brown paper. They only have two major categories to sort, burnable and non-burnable. (Cellophanes go in the burnable category.)

In the city of Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture trash has to be taken to a public gathering place where officials sort it. One time my friend had a bunch cassette tapes in her trash. She was told she had to remove the tape from the cassettes before throwing them away, because the tape was burnable and the cassettes were hard plastic. She had to stand there and pull all the tape out before she could leave her trash.

You might be able to request your own copy of the trash calendar by writing to:
Iwakuni City Hall
1-14-51 Imazu Machi
Iwakuni, Yamaguchi 740-8585
JAPAN

International letter post from the USA is 84 cents.

Answer 5

at the start, trash series time table is distinctive in accordance to sections of cities and cities. My anwer my not save on with on your place. Cans= of iron, alminun(different than for greasy,oily cans and explodable cans like cassette sylinder or splay cans) Bottles= of glass, puppy(different than for oily and greasy bottles) Burnable=nutrition refuse or scraps, paper or plastic wrappings, plastic or puppy boxes of shampoo,kechup, salad dressing and or detergent. Refuse= nutrition refuse. Cardboxes= is often accrued seperately on a special occasion(a minimum of two times a month) including books, magazines, newspaper besides as used clothings or towels, sheets. Styrofoam,batteries, milk cartons = are accrued seperately (ask your neighboughs) CD/DVD=could be disposed as unburnable including ceramics, not common plastics, broken umbrella, leather-based products ect. "Plastic boxes and Packaging"=Sorry, in my city there's no such distinction, so please examine it out including your city and attempt to be certain in the event that they have an English pamphlet detailing the thank you to dispose trash.