Maybe there is another post about this, if so please let me know! This is for Yokosuka City...

Posted By NCornish4 on 08-18-2011 8:38 PM

The paper boxes that are used on the frozen meals like Kids Cuisine or Healthy Choice, are those to be broken down and tied for the group resource category (with milk cartons, etc...) or to be put in burnable? Some are white inside and some are brown inside the paper box......

BURNABLES - THE BEST I CAN FIGURE IS GROUP RESOURCES IS ONLY WHEN YOU HAVE A LOT OF SOMETHING

Also, with those meals comes plastic bowls, but not sure if they go in the Plastic containers and packaging or non-burnable.... They do not have a recycle symbol on the bottom...

PLASTIC CONTAINERS AND PACKAGING

I have been rinsing all food off everything before disposing...

YOU DON'T HAVE TO, BUT THEY LIKE YOU TO AND IT HELPS WITH ODORS

Also, with the PET bottles category, do all the american bottles like Minute Maid and sodas apply to here as well even though obviously they won't have PET on them since they aren't Japanese?

BOTTLES AND CANS -- PLASTIC TOPS GO IN THE PLASTIC CONTAINER AND PACKAGING BIN. ANYTHING WITH A DRINK IN IT IS USUALLY GOING INTO THE PET BOTTLE BIN

Where to plastic plates/silverware go? Ive been washing them and reusing (HHG not here yet) but one cracked in the microwave and I wasn't sure if it can be recycled in the plastics and packaging, or go to the landfill in non burnable (in this category it lists plastic cups, so wasn't sure if all disposable dishes went here)

NON BURNABLE

I am afraid of getting charged if I don't get this right, but want to be able to take my trash out! Haha...

THANK YOU SO MUCH in advance for any help, Im sure I will have questions about more items in the future.... If theres a website anywhere that can help please let me know!

Each little neighborhood is different. The calendar the base gave me for trash collection was junk....even though I live in the city of Yokosuka, my trash schedule is different than the calendar.

Also my trash men are a little loosey goosey. They don't sit there and pick through every item, they just don't have time. But if they see something obvious they'll put the sticker on it and leave it there. I've been living in my home for two months and I've never seen a group resource collection. As far as I can tell it's only for bulk items, like if you have a lot of magazines or several pounds of newspaper.

We have a little trash truck that comes around and has a loudspeaker on it....maybe that's the group resource collection? I don't know, I've never used it.

I just follow what everyone else in the neighborhood does. For the first few weeks, I snuck out to the trash bin, looked at everyone else's trash then returned to my home and pulled the trash bag out of the most appropriate can.

I can say it gets much much much easier. I used to make a collection of those toilet paper rolls in plastic bags because the booklet says "group resources" and to "cut them open and lay them flat".....then I saw my neighbors throwing them away in burnables.....so I did the same and it's been working fine.

Basically know your neighborhood. I always do a quick and un-creepy-as-possible glance into the trash bin to make sure I'm copying what my neighbors do...so far so good, I've had nothing stickered or returned to my door and I pretty much lived in fear of that the first few weeks.

Great Post KRISK!  Been a while since I seen a great response like that.

Here are some additional resources that may help.

When we lived in town, I was told by our real estate agent to ask a neighbor as to when the group pickup was. A non-city group picks those up and gets recycling money apparently... Ours was two Saturdays a month. Our collection point was slightly different too. You can probably just pay attention to when you see neighbors with stacks of paper, etc for that pick-up.

You'll be a pro at sorting trash before you know it!!

Don't be so nervous about it. We were! Lol! Now, it comes second nature and I wonder why I was so scared!? Heh, heh, heh... ok, ok. I know. They scare the heck out of you during AOB and stuff right? Well we were.

The post by Krisk is right on & so are Adam's files. AWESOME!

Feel free to PM me should you have any other questions. We live in Ashina, just south of Hayama/Akiya area. It's still part of Yokosuka City so it shouldn't be too different.

~Maria

It is really nice to see you came to ask. I've been in Japan 24 years and I've heard a lot of complaining about trash sorting.. :-(

I've had a little share of things get rejected in my time since I moved to this current neighborhood (in Saitama) in 1995 but I've seen a lot more get rejected of others stuff and I'm the only foreigner so I hate it when the community "han cho" leader for the year used to always bring the "rejected" trash to my house and blame me.. Things have changed a lot since those days but I hated it back then. Once the old day brought a bag of cat food cans, not washed and not in clear plastic and on the wrong day and started yelling at me. I lost it that day and never forget yelling at her in Japanese that I hated cats... she never came back again but I admit she got to be an ok lady later on!! :-)

Anyway things are also different for each area in Japan the city next to mine has to buy bags specific for each type of trash at the store and use them, they can't use regular bags.. sooo expensive. In Chiba my friends can still use black trash bags but for me I have to use clear for any type of trash except burnable, burnable can be in white but has to be "nearly transparent"

A few other things about can recycling (and you should double check where you are which you can do by bringing an empty can even if it is in English to a neighbor and asking them even.. like I didn't understand at first : fruits, vegetables, soups go in recycle can trash. Cat food (lol), tuna fish, oily foods even when you was them go in non burnable. That is what I had some trouble with at first.

Also plastic items have numbers with the little triangle numbers 1 to whatever. Pet is a 1 I think?? now I can't remember and don't have a bottle anywhere here. Anyway my city said "all Pet 1" which is the drink bottles... well I found lots of plastic containers of the American microwave foods were also Pet 1 so I put them in the trash area, same day but separate bag... they didn't pick them up. They obviously didn't want to read them and in Japan I guess Pet 1 is only for bottles so I ended up having to just put them with plastic trash.
Anything plastic goes in plastic trash, plates, bowls, the Ziploc or Hefty containers, used plastic bags, wrappings, foam peanuts, etc.. but hard plastic say an old Tupperware plate needs to go to non recyclable.

on another note if you try hard and ask questions to the neighbors if you're not sure they'll love you and want to help you or if you make a mistake they'll often fix it if they see it before the trash guys come. but if you're a witch as an ex-friend of mine was even living here for more than 10 years or so they'll nab you every time. they had her emptying the plastic containers of ketchup (like from burger king) and washing them to put in the trash and I don't know any Japanese who do that..

Good Luck!!!! It's not so hard when you try!!

Oh and if you find out when the "recycling truck" comes through your neighborhood you can put out newspapers, books, magazines, paper boxes (tied of course and separated) and they also leave you toilet paper in your mailbox!! Though I had one period of bad experience... they were leaving one or two or three rolls of toilet paper that were wrapped rolls but then I guess they were saving money or couldn't get that and they were putting a roll from a big package into a small plastic handle bag the size of one roll and leaving them. That grossed me out... no way was I gonna use that after who touched it and where it had been! After awhile I noticed people getting wrapped rolls again and started putting out my stuff on that day again instead of the trash area. They usually do that stuff once a month (around here)

Wow, I thought Iwakuni was bad... Yoko sounds crazy!

Down here, we have to buy those special bags that VLPC mentioned. You get them at 7/11 or other stores; green or red bags depending what you put in them. But at least most of the city is on the same schedule, so we don't have to guess what day stuff gets picked up.

We also have a mandatory Trash Class to go to once you get your offbase home. It's done at the base housing office; they explain about the schedule, how to properly prepare the trash, what stuff goes in which bags, etc. Fortunately, my wife has figured this all out; if it's other than combustible I just leave it for her to figure out. :-)

Thank you for all the great responses! I can't WAIT til this feels second nature haha! I have yet to go give the new-to-the-neighborhood gifts to the neighbors, I was waiting until my husband got back, but it seems he may be extended :/ So looks like it may be best if I go do it myself and meet them so I have someone to ask! I did not know about the sticker on trash if they reject it!! I wish I would have checked yesterday after the trash truck came, my bag was gone last night, and I hope a neighbor didn't take it out, I would be so embarrassed! LOL! Thai Guy it would make sense to have a class about it, I wish they offered that, or a youtube video like they do on the CFAY website for the Duty In Japan topics...

Wow thanks for the files too, Zushi is even more complicated!! Reading their rules makes Yokosuka seem not so bad....

I have another question, what to do about baby diapers and pull ups? How thorough of a cleaning do they need before putting in trash? Also, if I rinse the #2 off they will most likely get bigger due to the rinse water, is it ok to put the water logged diaper in the burnable trash?

Thanks again, you guys rock!

Diapers do not need to be rinsed or cleaned, where did you hear that? Just put them in burnable. I have lived here a year and a half and have never had my trash rejected. I live in Hayama, so it may be different.

Good to hear! I am hoping they take them in the burnable as is! I guess I will find out soon enough if they like them rinsed off.... I read it on the housing pamphlet with descriptions on how to dispose of certain items... That would encourage potty training sooner LOL!

We put bags with dog poo right in burnable, would think diapers would also go in burnable. I wish there would be some info on base on how to dispose of packaging from the commisaary. Stuff bought in Japanese groceries I don't have questions about, but things like the plastic container for roast chicken, laundry detergent bottles, etc. I am never sure.

where i live is forbidden put dog poo in the trash. but here no one cares

but things like the plastic container for roast chicken, laundry detergent bottles,

I put both of those in the plastic containers/packaging material. Same with my shampoo/conditioner bottles. Never had an issue.

Thai guy, my whole city is on a different schedule. Each little area.. it is awful. My friend lives just up the hill 4 minutes away but there is a border, her area is Araku, Iruma-shi, mine is Bushi, Iruma-shi and we have totally different trash schedules. In the year end when the trash schedules are limited pick up we sometimes bring some trash to each other to help each other out. Like she's got plastic but not again for 2 weeks and I've got burnable but not again for a week.. sometimes we do this in the middle of the night...

I pray we don't need to buy those colored bags in my city soon.. it is such a waste of other plastic bags you get from the stores, you can't really recycle them at all.

It is also forbidden to put poo in our burnable trash (I have no kids or pets but I heard) and I see my neighbors they always bury it.... but most people I know put it in the burnable trash.. just don't put it in a clear bag they can see it.. LOL

As Amy said anything plastic with the exception of hard plastic goes in plastic just fine. Just not tupperware or something hard like that.
and again I have clear shampoo or spray bottles that are PET 1 which could be put in the plastic bottles trash but I gave up because the Japanese don't believe it is possible.. LOL so they just don't get recylced like they should.

again I have clear shampoo or spray bottles that are PET 1 which could be put in the plastic bottles trash but I gave up because the Japanese don't believe it is possible

If you take the labels off so they are not obvious, then it shouldn't be an issue. I do this with my hand soap, dish soap, and mouthwash. I also drink a lot of bottled water so that bag is usually pretty full which helps with the not obvious part. (Of course getting the labels of can be a pain so sometimes I don't bother. :o) )

After being in Japan for a little over a year, I finally got trash "returned" to me.

I threw some house slippers away in "non burnable" since they contained both plastic (soles) and fabric. When I went out the next day to put that day's trash out, I noticed it was left aside.

Someone told me the slippers should have been disposed of w/burnable. So I did that.

Nope - trash wasn't taken.

So now I'm at a loss - has anyone successfully thrown away house slippers? If so, which trash "pile" did you use?

Just take them on base to the 'off-base' trash site near the Auto-port.