One of the most annoying things in Japan is that there seem to be no garbage cans! The pockets of my jackets are filled with garbage because I never see any garbage cans when I need one! You have to imagine that every time I see garbage cans, I stand in front of them, digging deep in my pockets and emptying two pounds of garbage into the garbage cans. Argh!
But when you see garbage cans, they come in a sevenfold! In one of my first posts I already mentioned the Japanese garbage system. Here is a typical example of on of the trashcan series on our campus:
It is especially annoying when you stand in front of it, ready to empty your pockets and realizing that each garbage can is labelled in Japanese! Where to put which trash?!
Have I shown you the garbage plan yet, which each household has to follow? Here it is. The garbage plan for 2009. Each color stands for a different kind of garbage. At the bottom there is some explanation (in Japanese) what trash belongs to which group. But the little pictures (the only thing I understand in this Japanese explanation) do not list every potential garbage. Last week I had to change my lightbulb. And I still have no idea in which trash to put it!
So in the course of time we have become fed up with this garbage dividing game, and I have to admit that we do not entirely obey the garbage plan anymore...
The best way to learn how to deal with garbage e.g. your lightbulb: (carefully) put them in pocket of XYZ-san and slightly watch, what he'll do.
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