Can’t sort your trash properly? Shame on you!
Disposing of trash is a major issue in Japan. Municipal governments all across these islands have created various conusing sorting rules to ease the recycling, dumping, or burning of garbage. Many foreigners who come to Japan, myself included, never fully grasp what kind of garbage goes in what kind of garbage bag, and only having a single chance every 30 days to dispose of aluminum cans can be a major hastle to those of us who often drink beer. But I guess my disposal of a small piece of plastic in the burnable bag this morning is nothing compared to the problems facing some areas. In the first week of January, some of ATV’s investigative reporters decided to stake out an area of Yokohama where huge amounts of oversized trash were being dumped in garbage collection zones. Their goal? To shame people into properly disposing of their large trash items:
Video 1: Their first target is this Chinese guy, who is committing the horrible crime of throwing away a cushion inside a cardboard box. They make him take his stuff back.
Video 2: This man is shamed into carrying the large cooking equipment he was throwing away back to his apartment.
Video 3: This shelf-dumping salaryman also gives in to the shame.
Watch out, trash rule violators! You could get ambushed by reporters the next time you try to throw away a perfectly good shelf (that your foreign neighbor will probably pick out of the trash heap in the morning).
