Garbage and Recycling (ゴミとリサイクル)

印刷用ページを表示する更新日：2019年6月12日更新

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The rules for sorting and putting out garbage and recycling in Oshu are as follows.

※ You can download explanatory posters on this page.

Rules for Putting Out Garbage & Recycling

The Basics

Both burnable and non-burnable garbage have to go into official city garbage bags. If they're not in an official bag, they won't be picked up. If your garbage won't fit into the largest bags, please bring it directly to Tanko Regional Sanitation Center (see below) or contact a licensed collection contractor.
Burnable garbage bags have red lettering, and unburnable garbage bags have blue lettering. They come in two sizes, large (大) and small (小) for 4 types of bags in total. Official garbage bags are readily available at supermarkets or convenience stores.
Recyclables do not have official bags, so just take recycling to the recycling station and put it in the appropriate container or net. Please bundle paper recycling with string.

Hours

Please put out burnable and non-burnable garbage plus weekday and Sunday recycling at the time decided by your area, and not on days when waste won't be collected.

About Garbage & Recycling Stations

Please put out burnable and non-burnable garbage plus weekday recycling at your local garbage station. If you have questions about which garbage station you're supposed to use, please check with your neighborhood association or at the sanitation department at city hall (main or a local branch office.)
Managing the station is the community's responsibility, so please be sure to keep it tidy.
Businesses, hospitals, and similar cannot use regular garbage stations; please bring it directly to the Tanko Regional Sanitation Center or contact a licensed collection contractor.

About Bringing Garbage Directly to the Tanko Regional Sanitation Center [PDFファイル／409KB]

How to Put Out Burnables

Kitchen waste/raw garbage

Please drain before placing with burnables.

Non-recyclable paper

Thermal paper (as in receipts), carbon paper, carbonless copy paper, wax paper, oil paper, laminated paper, sticker paper, sublimation transfer paper (textile paper/iron print paper), shredded paper, pull-open mail cards, disposable diapers, dirty/scrap paper, and other paper that can't be recycled goes in burnables.

Hard-to-clean plastic containers

Hard-to-clean containers for mayonnaise, ketchup, wasabi, toothpaste, shampoo, detergent, and similar go in burnables.

Branches/sticks from yardwork

May be placed in an official garbage bag or tied up with twine and placed in a garbage station outside of a bag. Bundles under 30 cm in diameter, and have no branches thicker than 10 cm or longer than 50 cm. Smaller branches, leaves, and similar should go in a regular garbage bag. Please don't tie up branches with wire or anything made of metal.

Other

Things made of leather, rubber, plastic not used in containers, or aluminum foil go in burnables.

※ Please also see these pages for reference.

Not All Plastic Products are Recyclable! [PDFファイル／509KB]

How to Dispose of Masks [PDFファイル／293KB]

How to Put Out Non-burnables

Knives (kitchen knives and similar), broken glass, other sharp objects

Wrap sharp things in paper, label it with the contents or with the word危険物 (pron. kee-ken-bootsu, meaning hazardous items,) and place in an official non-burnable garbage bag.

Home electronics (that aren't taken by home electronic recycling/computer recycling) and stove ranges

Cut the cord, place the electronic in an official non-burnable garbage bag, and put it out on the appropriate day. The cord can go in non-burnables too. For garbage that won't fit in a regulation bag, bring directly to the Tanko Regional Sanitation Center or contact a licensed collection contractor.

Other

Crockery, glass, and metals that can't be recycled go in non-burnables. Things made of leather, rubber, plastic not used in containers, or aluminum foil go in burnables.

How to Recycle

Paper Products

Newspapers, magazines, cardboard boxes, paper cartons, other paper (paper packaging)

Sort the above 5 by type, bind with string, and dispose. Paper packaging may be placed in a paper bag for disposal.
Mail advertisements go with newspaper.
Thermal paper (as in receipts), carbon paper, carbonless copy paper, wax paper, oil paper, laminated paper, sticker paper, sublimation transfer paper (textile paper / iron print paper), shredded paper, pull-open mail cards, disposable diapers, dirty/scrap paper, and other similar paper cannot be recycled, so please place them with burnable garbage.

Metals

Aluminum and steel cans

Rinse out the inside, separate aluminum and steel cans, and place directly in the relevant receptacle.
Food/drink cans, nori cans, pet food cans, powdered milk cans, and similar are intended for recycling.

※ 18-liter cans, paint cans, and spray cans must be all used up and have a hole punctured in them before disposal as non-burnable garbage.

Please don't crush cans.

Scrap metal (Koromogawa only)

Place directly in the relevant receptacle at the recycling station.

Bottles

Clear bottles, brown bottles, bottles of other colors

Rinse them out, sort by color, and place directly in the relevant receptacle.

Plastic

PET bottles, white trays, other plastic (plastic packaging)

All types

Separate by type and place directly in the relevant receptacle.

PET Bottles

Remove the cap and label (they go with plastic packaging) and rinse before recycling.

White Trays

Meant for white food trays specifically. Food trays of other colors and white non-tray packaging go with plastic packaging.

Other Plastic (Plastic Packaging)

Covers snack wrappers, cup ramen containers, plastic wrapping, plastic packing materials (bubble wrap, etc.), plastic shopping bags, and other plastic packaging with the "recyclable plastic" label on them. Plastic packaging that doesn't have this label, or that's gotten dirty, should go in burnables.

※ Remove recyclables from the bag you brought them in, and place in the collection net. Do not place the bag in the collection net.

※ Mayonnaise, ketchup, wasabi, toothpaste, and similar hard-to-clean containers go in burnables.

※ Plastic buckets, coat hangers, videotapes, MDs/CDs/DVDs, etc. are not containers or packaging; they are not recyclable plastic and so they go in burnables.

Downloadables

Recycling Poster (English) [PDFファイル／2.02MB]

Garbage Poster (English) [PDFファイル／2.48MB]

Mizusawa

(Mizusawa's garbage and recycling calendar is mostly the same every year)

Mizusawa R4 (2022) Garbage and Recycling Calendar [PDFファイル／710KB]

(中文) 水沢 (みずさわ) 2022年度垃圾・再生利用资源收集日历 [PDFファイル／1.09MB]

About Electronics

Electrical appliances like Tvs, computers, refrigerators, washing machines,　and air conditioners have to be recycled, but the way you can do this and how much it costs depends on the appliance and the maker.　However, Oshu has collection boxes for the following small appliances at city hall, general branch offices, and all community centers (地区センター) in the city:

Cell phones/PHS、phones/fax machines、portable radios, digital cameras, video cameras, IC recorders, portable music players, portable DVD/Bd players, e-books, calculators, electronic blood pressure meters, stationary and handheld game players, car audiovisual and information devices (car navigation, audio equipment, etc), remote controls, AC adapters, accessories like chargers, etc.

The appliance will have to fit into the collection box openings (15 centimeter high x 25 centimeter wide).

Look for the green box that looks like this:

green boxの画像

Why should I follow the rules for where and when to put out garbage?

Good question! In Japan, people in the local neighborhood association (your neighbors) all work together to maintain the area, including garbage and recycling stations. When you leave garbage or recycling out on the wrong day, or don't sort properly, the contractor in charge of collection won't collect it, and whoever is in charge of garbage and recycling (again, one of your neighbors) will have to clean it up themselves.

Putting out garbage etc. in another station (not the one for the place you live in) also causes problems. Extra, unanticipated garbage in another station could cause overflow and attract crows, for example.