Recycling in Japan

Tuesdays are "Recycling Day." So, Monday night I have to sort, what I haven't sorted already, our trash into the proper bags. Here's how it all works:

Bag with red "lettering" is for burnables. Burnables are put out twice a week (T & F). These do not go where I put all the recyclables. They go out in front of the house. Then I cover them with a blue net so that the monsterous crows do not come pick the bags apart! Obviously, they are looking for food scraps. Why are there so many food scraps? Because there aren't garbage disposers! The sinks have little strainers that you have to clean out and put in your trash. We were actually "warned" about the crows. At the time, we laughed.....we're not laughing anymore.

Bag with blue lettering is for plastics, BUT you put plastic "pet" bottles in a separate bag from other misc. plastics. They also have to be cleaned before you put them in the bags.

Bag with blue lettering is also for cleaned food and drink cans and other misc. aluminum, but not to be mixed in with either of the plastics bags.

Bag with blue lettering is also for cleaned food cartons and other recyclable-type papers. Again, not to be mixed in with either of the plastics or aluminum bags. I rinse out milk and juice cartons before I break them down to put in the bin.

Bag with green lettering is for anything that isn't burnable and doesn't fit into one of the other recyclable bags. But, it has to be smaller than 30x30x30 cm. Anything larger than that has to be called in for pick-up.

Bag with green lettering is also for spray cans. But before putting in the bag, you are required to poke a hole in the side of the can. The 100 yen stores actually sell tools designed just for this purpose. These are not to be mixed in with the other green bag of misc.

Glass bottles and jars do not go in a bag. They get put into a large, blue, community bin located where I take all the bags to.

So, I have to take 4-6 bags (don't usually take the "green" bags) and our bottles to the community recycling area, which is pretty close. It sounds, and actually is, pretty complicated, but I'm getting the hang of it. The girls are doing great knowing whether to put their trash in the trash can under the sink or in the "plastic" bin. I'll post pictures of the bins and other stuff. It will be pretty easy to bait the crows ;)

~Michelle