Yesterday I took out my trash for the first time since arriving on this island exactly two months ago. Reducing waste in all facets of my life is something I've been conscious of since my Peace Corps experience. There are still a few areas in which I'm guilty without an excuse, like flying, but I consider this Japan living experience a great opportunity for me to keep track of all my wastes. I receive monthly statements on water, gas, and electricity consumption, so it will be easy to track my usages. I also get a sewer bill, but I didn't think that fell into the 'consumption' sentence.
Garbage is separated into six different bags, as far as I can tell: burnable, paper, plastics, cans, glass, and non-burnables. My predecessor left me a can bag that was 2/3 full and a glass bag, also 2/3 full. I started my own garbage bag on the first day and have been surprised both at how little garbage I am producing and also at how well I can compress my trash into the 30" bags. Really, TWO MONTHS without putting any trash out for the trash man? I would lobby for an award, except when I had a Russian translator of Japanese (yes, she also knows English) tell my supervisor that I had yet to dispose of trash, he first said I was a liar and then accused me of ditching my trash at the school. A rather brilliant idea, but not mine.
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