The trash system in Japan is elaborate and extensive. I didn’t even know there was a system for throwing out trash in Japan until I arrived. I had to get used to being aware of what I put in the trash bags in my room. The first place I felt this big change was in my room. I had to create a 3-bag trash system that worked for me. I sectioned my trash into 3 groups which follow the general trash system. Firstly, You need at least 3 trash bags in your room. One is for 燃えるゴミ, burnable trash, which consists of paper, food, takeout containers, food residue, etc. things that can be burned. The second one is for 燃えないゴミ, unburnable trash which normally consists of plastic containers that don’t have food residing on them such as laundry detergent containers, plastic wrappings, etc. The last one is for ペットボトルとカン; water bottles and cans. This is a section I made since their trash containers are next to each other in the dorm trash area. When I head down to throw out my trash, I separate the cans and water bottles and put them into their section, as shown in the picture below. Then, I throw out the 燃えるゴミ and 燃えないゴミ in their separate trash cans outside. You can see these depicted in the images below, note the red arrows.
Moving on from the normal trash system, there is the restaurant trash system. In, home-style restaurants, they will often clean up the table right after you leave so this does not apply to them. Similarly, a lot of cafes will have you return your dishes to a window for the employees to collect so even in cafes it’s taken care of. The windows look like this:
These stores were not as much of a concern as the fast food restaurants and some cafes maybe it’s because of its fast pace that you will need to throw away your trash. The big places I see the system are in McDonald’s, KFC, pizza stores, and places with paper cups, paper containers, and plastic straws and lids. When I was first getting used to this type of store one of the workers would do it for me, probably because it’s shown on my face I was confused, but I never was explained how the system worked.
I only found out how it worked by watching some locals throw away their trash and from that I finally understood the system. Whether you just got the new popular Sakura drink or just a regular burger, there is a system behind the trash. Firstly, when throwing away your trash, you take your tray to the trash section in the store. There is a hole on the top of the trash cans which I didn’t understand what to do with until I saw this image.
After I was done giggling about Ice Cube being used as a sign to throw away my ice cubes I did as such. it makes sense since you’re not supposed to pour any liquid in the trash bins. These trash bins are the 燃えるゴミ and 燃えないゴミ mentioned earlier. Any paper or food goes into 燃えるゴミ. your plastic containers like straws and lids go into the 燃えないゴミ container.
Interestingly enough I noticed in this instance that I was going to be alright in Japan. Following the grain and moving with the crowd is necessary and important to not stick out. I feel my experience was enhanced by being receptive to what others did around me, allowing me the ability to catch on quickly to local-like behaviors. In these ways, my previously mentioned heightened sense of awareness of others enables me to catch on fast and has even gotten me to interact with some interesting and kind people. That’s how I got to join a sports club at my school, but that’s a story for another time…
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