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Ordinary domestic waste is collected and disposed of by local municipalities. There will usually be designated collection points (varying from small sheds to street corners) where residents are asked to bring their domestic waste. Waste is classified into burnable, non-burnable, recyclables and oversized items, and collected separately on specified days. Some local municipalities may also designate the type of trash bag to be used, so please check.

There is a poster for each municipality that outlines the separation system and calendar for collection. New posters are sent out every year in March and should already be in your apartment when you arrive. If not, ask your supervisor to help you get in touch with your town hall to get one.

Tips:

   -Ask your supervisor, where your collection point is in the first couple of days after you have arrived. You will be spending time with him/her going around filling out forms and getting everything situated, so it is a good time to ask where your collection point is and get help deciphering the trash separation poster mentioned above.
   -Utilize separate small trashcans for each type of recycling classification. Having a storage location for different items between collections makes it easier to recycle. Otherwise, the separation system can become overwhelming and lead to putting recyclables in with burnables.
   -Many things can be recycled. Even if in your home country it was not recyclable, chances are here in Japan it is. Check the poster, vocabulary list provided below, and look for the appropriate recycling symbol on the item.

Waste Classifications

   Burnable: Food scraps, wood, clothing, paper (check the paper recycling list below because many paper items can be recycled), etc.

   Non-burnable: Metals, plastics, ceramics, metal bottle caps and lids, etc.

   Oversized: Anything too big for a waste bag

   Recyclables: Usually the categories within Recyclables are collected on different days.

Paper products – newspapers/magazines (within this group other paper products can be recycled such as copy paper, calendars, pamphlets, postcards, envelopes, notebooks, tissue boxes, junk mail, tea wrappers, food/product boxes), milk/juice cartons, cardboard

   *Cartons should be rinsed, and the plastic lids removed and put in with plastic recyclables. Cartons and cardboard should also be cut open and flattened.
   *This group must be stacked and bundled up with paper twine. This twine can be purchased at most supermarkets, 100 Yen shops, and hardware stores.

Plastic wrappings – (this is a recyclable item that is often forgotten but contributes to a large portion of waste) plastic wrappings for sweets, instant food, frozen packaging, fresh food bags, plastic bags (ensure the bags are empty), trays, packaging, cups, tofu packaging, cup noodle packaging, pudding and yoghurt cups, instant food items, conbini bento, plastic sauce bottles, plastic shampoo/cleaning product bottles, lotion/medicine plastic bottles, plastic caps of PET bottles (but not the PET bottle itself, which has a separate collection day), polystyrene (styrofoam) items, orange/onion nets, plastic caps for tubes, etc.

   * Please clean out the inside thoroughly, especially for cleaning products and shampoo bottles.
   * Do not put tubes and hard to clean items out with burnable items
   * Even if items are attached to the wrappers, please do not throw them out with the packaging (strings etc.)

Cans – Items with the ‘Aluminum’ and ‘Steel’ symbols, plus cans, tea caddies (can), and sweets tins, even if they don’t have the recycle mark

   *Gas cartridges and spray cans can also be put out; however, they must be punctured and emptied completely before disposal. Those with no holes can cause fires and/or explosions during the gathering operations.
   * Please clean out the interior of cans by rinsing them.
   * Please put the lids of cans out with non-burnable items.

Glass – remove caps and rinse with water (metal caps should be put in with the non-burnable trash)

   *Check with your municipality to see if you need to divide glass by color.
   *Liquor stores will take back any glass bottles that you bought from them.

Classification of waste varies from municipality to municipality, so it is a good idea to ask your landlord, neighbors, town hall, or supervisor for clarification. The above information is to try to provide you with as much detailed information as possible as to what can be recycled; however, it is not a definite list for all towns. The more that can be recycled, rather than burned, the better.

Nicole McCann