Trash… How Exciting…

I have decided to talk about the most exciting subject today, trash… Alright, hear me out, I know it sounds strange at best and boring at worst but there is actually some interesting stuff here to talk about. From what I have noticed, trash, or rather, the trash system here is very different from the US. So, I would like to talk about that for a bit today.

To start off, one of the biggest differences that you notice right away is how trash is sorted. In the US, there is typically one trash can that is used for all kinds of trash. In some states, such as mine, there is also a separate bin for recycling and sometimes there is even a bin for compost. From my experience, there is usually one bin on its own. By contrast, Japan has a vastly different bin system. Usually, there are four bins in a given trash area: 燃えるゴミ(combustible trash)、燃えないごみ(noncombustible trash)、ペットボトル(plastic bottles)、and カン(cans). Whenever you go to throw away your trash, you have to separate your trash into these bins. Plastic wraps and paper go in the first, things like glass and metal go in the second, and the last two are self-explanatory for the most part. The only thing that may not be so obvious is regarding the plastic bottles bin. Usually, you have to take off the cap and wrap on the bottle and rinse the bottle before putting it in the bin.

The second difference between the trash system here and the trash system of the US is the frequency of trash cans. In the US, it is common to find a random trash can while walking down the street. In Japan, that is extremely rare. Trash cans in Japan are usually in designated areas, such as restaurants and convenience stores. The locals here often have trash bags on their persons so that they can store their trash before getting to a designated trash area. The reason why public trash bins are few in Japan is due to a series of sarin gas attacks in 1995 that used trash cans.

Okay, I think that is all I have for now regarding trash. Pretty interesting right?