Another Man's Treasure

The Japanese garbage process is extremely complex. It's definitely environmentally friendly, however complying can be a pain. EVERYTHING gets separated. For example, the cellophane lining of business envelopes must be removed and disposed with plastic while the envelope is sorted as paper. Similarly, the plastic pour spout on milk cartons must be removed from the carton. The cartons must be flattened and bound. Food wrappings should be rinsed when possible, etc. Again...admirably "green", again...a hassle.

The Schedule

Anyway, when in Rome, right? So we have about five working garbage bags to get with the program and comply with all of the sorting requirements. Evidently our efforts are not good enough. Twice now, Irakawa-San (our very kind, elderly neighbor) has knocked on our door mid-morning to explain to Jennifer why the way in which our garbage has been sorted is incorrect. He must be retired. It's rather embarrassing to be called out to the curb and asked to identify your garbage (keep in mind it's the only bag containing American products and English writing) and then have your Japanese neighbor explain to you on the street (in somewhat broken English) why an ice cream carton contains polyethylene and therefore is burnable, not paper.  As if we didn't stand out enough as is it (we wear bright clothing, bike helmets, speak English, are Caucasian, etc.).

Needless to say, there is now a bag of what we thought was salvageable paper in our little garbage room (there are so many bags, we've created a special space for them) that has yet to be taken to the curb since Jennifer has not been emotionally ready to re-sort it or be confronted by the neighbor. Maybe we can just find out when Irakawa-San will be on vacation and dispose of it then? He's lived there for 47 years so he probably won't move before we do. And TSA would probably frown upon us bringing it home to the States in our suitcases. Hmmm. Well, until we come up with a better plan or send the neighbor on a cruise, we have some sorting to do!