In most countries other than Japan, throwing away trash is pretty simple. Just put them in any garbage container and bid goodbye to your waste. Although some efforts have been made in other countries to separate rubbish to a certain extent, such as cardboard or food waste, throwing away garbage is still relatively simple and doesn’t take up too much of your time and effort.

 

Most foreigners who come to Japan for the first time are often surprised by the very systematic separation and disposal of garbage in the Japanese recycling system. Each city has its own rules, so you have to be careful but, in general, the rules are pretty similar. This article is a guide on how to separate garbage in Japan.

 

In Japan, garbage is basically categorized into four different types. Each type has its own trash containers. Do your best to organize your trash and put them in the correct categories by keeping several trash cans in your apartment, if possible. Pay special attention to the collection days so that you don’t end up missing it and have to keep your trash in your house for another week!

 

 

1. Combustible

Combustible trash or burnable trash, which is collected twice a week, includes paper (wastepaper, kitchen roll, diapers), plastic bags and wrappers (food wrappers, gift wrappers, candy wrappers, grocery bags), rubbermaid commercial trash cans and leather (bags, shoes, slippers, boots), tubes and other plastic containers (toothpaste containers, cooking oil containers, soy sauce containers, ketchup containers, margarine containers, yogurt containers).

 

2. Incombustible

Collected once a month, non-burnable trash includes long plastics (plastic cords, hoses, rope), ceramic wares (teacups, plates, flower pots), metals, glass (flower vases, eyeglasses), and small appliances (flat irons, radio cassettes, rice cookers).

 

3. Oversized Garbage

This includes home furniture such as cupboards, bookshelves, sofas, beds, tables, and others, over 50-centimeter long stuffed toys, bicycles, below 60cc motorcycles, electric fans, vacuum cleaners, carpets, and bedding.

 

 

4. Bottles and Cans

This trash is generally collected twice a month. Bottles include empty glass containers (caps must be removed), tin cans, and aluminum cans. These must be put in separate garbage bags, or you can deposit them in the provided boxes as they are. “Pet” bottles, which are plastic drinks bottles (with the number 1 inside a triangle symbol) must also be in a separate garbage bag with their caps removed, washed, cleaned, and compressed (you can do this by stepping on them).

 

 

5. Old clothes and Used paper

Once you are done reading newspapers and magazines, don’t just throw them in the trash. There are wiser ways to recycle such items without hurting the environment. Books, newspapers, magazines, and cardboard are usually collected once or twice a month. When recycling old books and newspapers, don’t forget to tie them with a rope. Old clothes can also be recycled. Just place them inside a see-through plastic bag so waste collectors can easily see the contents and place them outside on the same day that paper, cardboard, books, magazines, and the like are collected. Keep in mind that some areas don’t collect these items on rainy days.

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