Garbage in Japan
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Garbage in Japan
1–10 of 47 posts
Re: Garbage in Japan
#2TL;DR: Japan doesn't have ubiquitous public garbage cans - you are expected to take your garbage with you until get home.
Re: Garbage in Japan
#3Since moving here I have not actually found the lack of garbage cans to be much of a problem in day to day life, but when I was a tourist it did feel inconvenient since I wasn’t used to it (and as a tourist, you don’t have the structure in your life wherein you would naturally have access to trash cans throughout the day, like at a workplace).
From the perspective of taking care of public spaces, I absolutely agree that it is a great cultural attitude. People are ingrained from youth to understand that other people are cleaning the spaces you exist in, they are not lesser for doing those jobs, and it’s a core cultural belief that you shouldn’t inconvenience others even if you don’t know them; this attitude makes public spaces feel very pleasant and contributes to the cleanliness and safety that most who visit Japan come to admire.
That said I don’t think that Japan is exempt from foisting their garbage onto third world countries as was posited in the article. Once it’s in the trash system you’re just as equally not taking responsibility for the waste you generate. While the public spaces are clean, Japan is also renowned for using a lot of unnecessary single use plastics, and people don’t really take responsibility for that.
Re: Garbage in Japan
#4TL;DR: Japan doesn't have ubiquitous public garbage cans - you are expected to take your garbage with you until get home.
It's more than that. Kids are expected to clean their schools, even the bathrooms. Not surprisingly, this nurtures an attitude of not messing it up in the first place.
Re: Garbage in Japan
#5The irony is that products in Japan come with so much garbage. Small items come packed in thick, crinkly plastic that doesn’t hold any form once it has been emptied of its product. Bento boxes are several times thicker than the packaging for ready-to-eat meals in other countries, and they don’t compress at all. When I’m touristing, I rely on the ability to shed load and make space for other things so I don’t have to go back to the hotel.
Re: Garbage in Japan
#6Its amazing how different the culture is. I don't even think twice about carrying garbage on me, but when I recommend Americans to just carry their garbage until they can toss it, I might as well have insulted their mother.
Apparently the view is that if society wanted them to keep the earth clean, they would have set out more garbage cans.
Re: Garbage in Japan
#7The irony is that products in Japan come with so much garbage . Small items come packed in thick, crinkly plastic that doesn’t hold any form once it has been emptied of its product. Bento boxes are several times thicker than the packaging for ready-to-eat meals in other countries, and they don’t compress at all. When I’m touristing, I rely on the ability to shed load and make space for other things so I don’t have to…
The fact that Japan still has so much single use plastic is really puzzling especially since it has a relatively small landmass so no much room for landfills.
Re: Garbage in Japan
#8The irony is that products in Japan come with so much garbage . Small items come packed in thick, crinkly plastic that doesn’t hold any form once it has been emptied of its product. Bento boxes are several times thicker than the packaging for ready-to-eat meals in other countries, and they don’t compress at all. When I’m touristing, I rely on the ability to shed load and make space for other things so I don’t have to…
Weird, interacting with Japan mostly only through video games (and only a limited amount with food) I actually find them almost the opposite most of the time.
Import games arrive in tiny boxes with almost no packaging and manuals that have been design like origami inserts to take up only the tiny remaining space available.
Re: Garbage in Japan
#9Since moving here I have not actually found the lack of garbage cans to be much of a problem in day to day life, but when I was a tourist it did feel inconvenient since I wasn’t used to it (and as a tourist, you don’t have the structure in your life wherein you would naturally have access to trash cans throughout the day, like at a workplace). From the perspective of taking care of public spaces, I absolutely agree t…
As a tourist, I didn't realize what a commitment I was making when I bought a snack from a vending machine one morning. I had to carry around the empty wrapper until I got back to my hotel room that night.
Re: Garbage in Japan
#10The irony is that products in Japan come with so much garbage . Small items come packed in thick, crinkly plastic that doesn’t hold any form once it has been emptied of its product. Bento boxes are several times thicker than the packaging for ready-to-eat meals in other countries, and they don’t compress at all. When I’m touristing, I rely on the ability to shed load and make space for other things so I don’t have to…
The fact that Japan still has so much single use plastic is really puzzling especially since it has a relatively small landmass so no much room for landfills.
They burn it :-)