Recycle Time in Japan

If you move in into your new home offbase then you better let them take all the cardboard boxes. Let them help you unpacking your stuff. It is a big mess in the floor but hey! it is a headache to recycle here in Japan. They collected twice a month on cardboard boxes and packing material. You better let them take it to minimize all the hassle. You will be overwhelm during your move.

Here in Japan everybody is doing recycle unless you eat out and pay too much money. But if you eat on base then it is not that much you spent. I will say, it is affordable.

If you live off base in a house, mansion or an apartment and your recycle is not sorting right. Your neighbor told you "recycle properly". But if you live in an apartment or a mansion then they have people or staff checker the trash in every bag.

We live in a mansion but back in the states we called this as an apartment. So we live in a mansion hehehehe. One day, I took out trash and it was PET 1 category of recycle and I use frosted plastic bag because I was out of clear plastic bag. The lady told me use clear plastic bag and I am glad she took my garbage. I saw that she check my trash inside the bag. Just to see to it that I did it right.

One time, it was green trash category. They collect this trash twice a month and if you missed once. You will live with all your trash the whole month. There was 3 bags of trash and it was not sorted the right way. The lady checker discovered it. The shameful thing is, it was own by an American. They could not get away with the Navy Exchange bag inside. They posted photos in every building and has a letter says; it is annoying and disgusting and what stuff inside in it. The bad thing is, there was wig, food trash, nail polish and some others. What a horrible thing. It was not my trash but then I felt shame because it was from my own fellow Americans.

Their trash is labeled burnable refuse (which includes foods, dirty diapers and some others), plastic packaging (which includes plastic bottle not PET 1, packaging and food trays (rinse it if there is food clinging on it), PET 1 categories,Non burnable refuse and Groups collections which is includes cardboard boxes ( properly bundled your cardboard or else they won't take it). There are so many things we learned in here which we don't do it in our normal life back in the states. If we don't follow their rules then you will be cited.

If you wanna live here in Japan. Prepare yourself of what is the law and rules here.

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