Japan is all about efficiency right down to its
garbage. They sort and recycle
everything! So far, I have three bags:
one for a vast assortment of plastic recycling, one for burnable garbage
(whatever THAT means…), and one for non-burnable garbage (again, I really don’t
know what constitutes as non-burnable).
On top of that, I have a box full of plastic bottles and a growing pile
of cardboard. And that pretty much sums
up about half of the categories of separating garbage.
It doesn’t end at home, though. At McDonald’s (yes, the worldwide food chain
has actually made it around the world), there are different garbage cans and a
place to dump the ice from your drink.
It may seem daunting to have to separate your trash at a fast food
restaurant, but there are places, like the popular burger chain, Mos Burger,
where you bring your tray to the employees and they deal with it for you.
Just about as ridiculous as the garbage system here is the
immense use of plastic. The Japanese are
unknowingly, notorious for over-packaging.
When getting groceries, I not only have bags for my food, but bags
within bags. And those extra bags aren’t
for the overpriced fruit! A pack of four
batteries looks pretty normal, but when you open it, there is another tight
plastic wrapping around all of the batteries.
My fellow Canadian ALT bought a KitKat in which all of the chocolate sticks
were individually wrapped.
In terms of longing for my home country, garbage and over-packaging are the two areas where I’m experiencing a rather comical side of negative culture shock. I’m in euphoria for everything else, at least until I have to eat natto or fish heads for lunch.
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