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The down and dirty, garbage collecting blues. . .

Mars Man

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Rest in Peace
28 Jul 2005
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Give me a shuffle in Eflat, and let that slide guitar do its thing, as I rag on about the low down, dirty garbage blues here on my little hillside in Japan.

Yeah, you see we merged into the greater Matsumoto back in April, and I went all the way down to the village office to ask if the garbage system was gonna change. The man said it wasn't and I went back up the hill to my cozy little tatami mat room a happy man.

Then came the news, just about a week ago: a garbage collecting explanation meeting to be held at the kouminkan (local neighborhood meeting hall) on March 11th. Now that was just last night.

And they said its gonna change over to the Matsumoto method!! (a tear rolls down my cheek as I take another swig from good ole Mr. Daniels) I mean, man...we had been putting the burnables out in them bags just right, with our names on them, and even the night before--as long as it was in that little metal shed. We had been putting out the glass the right way--clear whole bottles together in one bag, dark brown bottles (including of course beer and sake) together in one, and all the in-between colored bottles in another.

The aluminum was in its own bag, the steel had one to itself, and all other metal objects in one. All bags signed with our name, put out the night before or on that morning. Everything was smooth enough, and life was simple and we were all happy. The sun rose every morning.

Now they say we have to take turns, standing out there in the morning from 7:30 to make sure everyone puts things into the bins which will be dropped off on collection day morning--no more bags for that stuff, just haul it up the hill to the drop off place, and put it in the right bin. Now that sounds easy enough...why do we need to take turns standing out there for an hour to make sure everyone understands Japanese...? (another swig while the slack key guitar whines a good long Bm flat)

I've had enough...(slams bottle down on the low Japanese table, startling the almost sleeping cat)...I'm gonna stand up for my rights !! (stands with a start, turns to walk out the door, bumping head at full blast) TELL ME !!

YOU PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN JAPAN, how does your system work, I want to know...do you have to take turns (touban) too? or can you just bag it up and drop it off like we used to before going back to the Edo period? I need help...let me know, please...(sits back down and talks with Mr. Daniel)
 
I predict the new method will last all of 10minutes, after which people will complain its cold and go home - not like they are going to get all touban-nazi on you and make you stand out there.
I just realised I have no idea how my garbage system works.... do they do classes for this sort of thing!?!?
 
we only have to drop ours off at the roadside. As long as we use the correct bags for everything, everyone is happy. Our block representative comes around (occasionally) to ensure that the garbage is seperated correctly...if not, she kindly picks it up and drops it back at your doorstep!
 
well i live on base so everyday i take whatever trash i have in a little sack i get from the store outside to the big dumpster...
 
Ewok85 san, CC1 san, Carlson san, thanks for your replies ! That's basically the way it is until the end of this month, here, CC1 san. And even then none of the block representitives even cared about it. (they're actually rather lazy 'bout things in this block) Ewok85, I wish I could say you are right, but I'm just not so certain yet. When I first came to this area, I lived in Matsumoto proper before marrying and moving out here to the hillsides, and they did it that way back then too--and that was 1984.

You're really lucky in that regards Carlson san. I hope to get Mike Cash, epigene, and some other of the long-timers comments too. I'll use all of this for ammonition (sp?) when we have a block meeting in early April. ugh....Thanks folks !!
 
That's nuts Mars Man! I never had to do anything like that where I grew up. I don't think my parents even have to write their name on bags.

I like how my garbage gets taken away by the garbage disposal service, I can just put it in a bin and leave it in front of my house every Monday, except we put cans in a recycle bin which is emptied by boyscouts or some kids who would steal them for cash.

Ewok85 said:
not like they are going to get all touban-nazi on you and make you stand out there.
That's funny Ewok85, we had a guy at the dump whom we used to call "dump nazi" because he was a jerk.
 
Here in Kariya, we basically do things the way you're used to. Although it seems to be just a tad more complicated.

In Yamaguchi where I lived, it was the touban system. We had to drop off the garbage at the kouminkan.
Burnable was ok to do the night before, but recycleables were only done for a 2 hour window in the morning.

When I used to live in Nagoya proper, I never really thought much about it, to be honest. But regarding your question, at the apartment complex I lived it, there were just big bins where you tossed all your stuff into whenever you wanted to. No bags; no touban. I'm sure it's changed since then, though.

I feel for you. The only thing I liked about the touban system was that it gave you an excuse to talk with your neighbors. I also agree that it will last much longer than 10 minutes. I guess all you can do is get used to it or move yet again, eh?
 
I wonder who's thinking such a system's going to work! :eek:

It's a long-term thing, so it must be something people can tolerate! That touban thing isn't going to work. I, for one, won't be there on time from my second tour of duty. 😊

The garbage sorting system is getting complicated everywhere. I just had to sort between burnable and non-burnable until a couple of years ago. Now, I have burnable garbage, unburnable, plastics, aluminum cans, steel cans, paper cartons, newspapers and glass bottles. (Did I leave out something??) The key to our system is that the burnable and unburnable garbage bags are expensive!! A medium-sized garbage bag (the size of a regular supermarket bag) costs about 50 yen each. The price rises exponentially with the size of the bag. The suggestion is to buy the smallest bag (very cheap at 10+ yen each) and throw away as little as possible if you want to save. In fact, it is cheaper to stuff garbage in two or three small bags than use one medium sized one!!

Garbage pickup was also changed, with trucks coming to every home and apartment building to pick up, rather than at designated spots in the neighborhood. It is slow, but all residents are held responsible for their respective garbage bags and cleanup after collection.

When it was introduced, people from City Hall held repeated meetings at the local kouminkan (civic centers) and broadcast an explanation of the system on the local cable TV. Pamphlets were distributed to every household. (We got two copies.)

This system has created a surplus fund (revenues from garbage bag sale) for the city of Chofu, that it even made news on TV (Nippon TV). The city plans to increase the number of employees for the garbage collection system and buy new trucks with the money. (They probably already did for the new fiscal year starting April.)

It is a hassle, and I am responsible for protecting my garbage from the crows. But, it has made garbage collection very clean in our neighborhood.
 
Thanks Misa .j san, Okawa san, and epigene san for that great information !! (puts the cap on the ole Mr. Daniels, and puts it back up on the shelf, tells the guitarists to take 5, as the sun slowly leaks through the clouds to fill the room once again)

I'll take it to the bank. I like the idea of everyone being responsible for their own, rather the group takes care of eveyone by having everyone work--willfully or not--for the group.

I still hope to hear from a few more folks living in different areas of Japan...

Thanks people !!👍 😌 :) 🙂
 
Ewok85 said:
I predict the new method will last all of 10minutes, after which people will complain its cold and go home - not like they are going to get all touban-nazi on you and make you stand out there.
Most Japanese complain, and yet just do it anyways. I imagine the system will last, whatever people's feelings on it may be.

When I lived with my in-laws, I know the mother-in-law sometimes had to be at the garbage station at 7am. There was also an old lady to whom everyone dreaded having as the garbage station attendant. She would rifle through everyone's trash, and if something wasn't right, she'd tell you to take the garbage back and sort it out properly.

In my neighborhood, I have never seen anyone standing out there on garbage day. I guess that's the difference between Okayama (the city I live in now), and Kurashiki (Okayama's direct neighboring city).
 
Thanks Revenant !! I really appreciate that input !!! Domo Arigatou Gozaimashita !!
 
All I know about garbage is that I toss it into the garbage area in the kitchen and my wife takes care of it. I'm 99% sure we don't have the touban system in my neighborhood. Certain types of trash seem to hang out quite a while. I never know if that's because the collection days are so far between or because my wife is missing some of them.
 
Thanks Mike Cash san !! I will go with the understanding then, that you don't have the touban thing. I sense that you are like most Japanese husbands in that your wife does it.

That may be the case from now on here, unless I can convince the neighborhood that we don't have to do things the Matsumoto city way--I mean they are a 30 min. drive across a couple of fairly big hills away from here, so what do we have to do with them? Besides, the populace pays for the service with taxes anyway, so why should we have to do a part of the work?

Thanks for your input Mike !!!
 
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