News Nara installing trash cans for the first time in 40 years to safeguard deer

thomas · 6 Mar 2025

Of course, it's due to overtourism. I hope other cities, even those without deer populations, will follow suit.

For the first time in nearly 40 years, Nara Park in Nara has reintroduced public trash cans to protect its iconic deer, a nationally protected species. Officials from Nara Prefecture explained that the bins were removed in 1985 to prevent the deer from accidentally ingesting rubbish. After their removal, volunteers and prefectural staff regularly cleaned the park. Signs were put up urging visitors to take their waste home. With the recent surge in foreign tourists, littering has increased, and many visitors have voiced concerns about the lack of trash cans.

Photo credit: Jiji

The litter left behind by visitors has become a health hazard for the deer, with research conducted by a conservation group finding plastic in the stomachs of nine out of 14 deer that had died in the park of unknown causes in 2019. [...] Prefectural officials placed three trash receptacles inside a bus terminal within the park and three outside of the terminal in the middle of January and kept them there for a month. During that trial period, the officials studied what type of trash was being thrown away, among other points of consideration. "Most of the trash was from people walking while eating, and so we saw no problem with making their installation permanent," the official in charge said of the trash cans. To prevent the deer from eating out of them, the trash cans have lids with handles—these must be pulled down like a mailbox to place trash inside. The bins are also sturdy enough that the deer can't knock them over.

Rise in tourists prompts Nara Park to install trash cans to protect deer

Increased littering in the park has created a health hazard for the protected animal.

www.japantimes.co.jp

時事ドットコム

Petaris · 6 Mar 2025

Great!

Now, about the rest of Nara City.....

The lack of public trash cans is really aggravating some times. It wouldn't be so bad if the places that sold consumable goods had trash cans available, but they don't. I have had to ask a few times at convenience stores if they would throw away the plastic containers from ice creams bought there. They always have but really they should just have a trash can available. I would certainly think that most tourists would expect to find trash cans around.

Edit: typo

thomas · 6 Mar 2025

How long can the 1995 sarin attack be used as an excuse? The absence of trash bins in public spaces is indeed highly inconvenient and leads to the abuse of glass and plastic containers as general waste containers. Convenience stores, too, fill in as trash dumpsters. Many now place their trash cans inside to stop passersby from dumping waste. Let's hope those pesky tourist hordes can trigger a paradigm shift.

mdchachi · 6 Mar 2025

Yes it's ridiculous. Last trip I had a disposable coffee cup with lid and was trying on clothes at Uniqlo and asked the staff in the changing area if they could throw it away but no, heaven forbid.

So I just left it on a clothes rack. (No, just kidding I kept it but I bet some people would do that.)

News Nara installing trash cans for the first time in 40 years to safeguard deer

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Rise in tourists prompts Nara Park to install trash cans to protect deer

Petaris

Sailing away...

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

mdchachi

Moderator

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