How a City in Japan Sorts Its Rubbish
In many cities in Japan, people must sort their rubbish into different types before they throw it away. This rule helps the city recycle more and send less rubbish to a landfill, which is a big area of land where waste is buried. When a new family moves to the city, they receive a booklet that explains the rules in detail. The booklet lists every kind of item and tells people which bag to use for it. At first, the system can look complicated, with many different bags and days. But once people learn the pattern, sorting rubbish becomes a normal part of daily life.
In most cities, the first step is to separate rubbish into three basic groups: burnable, non-burnable, and recyclable. Some cities use many more groups than this. Burnable rubbish includes food waste, used tissues, and paper that is too dirty to recycle. This group is sent to a plant where it is burned to make heat or electricity. Non-burnable rubbish includes small metal objects, broken glass, and old pans. Batteries usually go to a special collection box, because they can start fires. Recyclable items include plastic bottles, aluminum cans, newspapers, and cardboard boxes. Each group must go into its own bag, and in many areas, each bag has a different color so that workers can check it quickly. Mixing the groups together is not allowed.
Before a plastic bottle goes into the recycling bag, people must rinse it with water and take off the cap and the label. This step keeps the recycling clean, because dirty bottles are harder to process at the recycling factory. Cans and glass jars should also be washed before they are thrown away. If a family forgets to clean an item, workers who collect the rubbish may leave a warning sticker on the bag instead of taking it. The family must then bring the bag back inside and fix the problem before the next collection day.
The city also controls when rubbish goes out for collection. Burnable rubbish might be collected twice a week, while recyclable items are collected only once a week, often on a fixed morning. People check a printed calendar to remember the correct day for each type. At the collection point, a net or a cage covers the bags so that crows and cats cannot tear them open and spread rubbish on the street. Although this system takes time and effort to learn, it turns household rubbish into a useful resource instead of simple waste.
Vocabulary
- landfill
- a large area of land where waste is buried under the ground — The city closed the old landfill and turned it into a park.
- booklet
- a small, thin book that gives facts about something — She read the booklet before she used the new washing machine.
- burnable
- able to be destroyed by fire — Paper and dry wood are burnable materials.
- non-burnable
- not able to be destroyed by fire — The broken plate is non-burnable, so we cannot put it in the fire pit.
- recyclable
- able to be treated and used again instead of thrown away — This bottle is recyclable, so please put it in the blue bin.
- recycling
- the process of treating used items so that they can be used again — Recycling helps us use less new plastic and glass.
- rinse
- to wash something quickly with water only — Please rinse the vegetables before you cook them.
- aluminum
- a light, silver-colored metal used to make cans and other objects — He crushed the aluminum can before he threw it away.
- cardboard
- a thick, stiff type of paper used to make boxes — We packed the books into a big cardboard box.
- resource
- a thing that people can use to get what they need — Water is an important resource that we must not waste.
- collection
- the act of going to a place and taking something away — The truck comes every Friday for the collection of old furniture.