Waste management in Japan

Rubbish is big deal in Japan. I only realized how I missed the waste management in Japan when I visit other countries. In Japan, different municipals have different management styles, but generally, rubbish are sorted by 2 categories at the-point-of-disposal. They are burnable and non-burnable waste. These categories are further divided into categories such as PET bottles, cans, foam (polystyrene) packages, paper cartons, etc. If you had visited the 2005 World Expo at Aichi, Nagoya, you would be surprised at the number of categories that were available.

I can understand how this came about in Japan. First of all, Japanese are crazy about presentation. Everything must be presented such that they are pleasing to the eye. You won't believe how many layers packing goes to gift-wrap something. And once you open the gift-box, you are presented with even more packaging before you even lay your eyes on the gift. You can say that the power of anticipation is brought to a new level here in Japan. With so much packaging materials to dispose of, you will need to have a good way to handle all that.

Also, Japanese are generally pretty civic minded about the environment. I believe this happened after WW2, and after Japan became industrialized. I once watched a Japanese movie, I believe it's called Hula Girl (フラガール) about this soon to be bankrupt mining company that tried to reinvent itself. It then occurred to me that the developing Japan was just like the developing China, or Taiwan or Singapore. During the time of economic boom, money is always first, while the environment takes second place. But the general public will sooner or later realize unchecked pollution and contamination due to improper waste disposal will only lead to more problems in the future. That is why the Japanese has a great system for garbage disposal. I think it is something other city municipals should really learn from. All this talk about rubbish reminds me that it's take-out-your-rubbish time today. Yes, we are limited to just twice weekly for disposal of burnable waste here in Nara-shi.