Japanese city to name and shame people who break trash rules

For the uninitiated, sorting one’s trash can be a convoluted process in Japan – a country that boasts one of the world’s strictest garbage disposal rules.

But in the city of Fukushima, things are about to get even tougher.

Starting in March, the city government will go through bags of trash that fall afoul of regulations – such as those which have not been sorted correctly, or which exceed size limits – and in some cases publicly identify their owners.

The new regulations, passed in a municipal meeting on Tuesday, comes amid Japan’s long push to enhance its waste management system.

While many cities in Japan open garbage bags to inspect them, and some allow for the disclosure of offending businesses, Fukushima is believed to be the first city that plans to disclose the names of both individuals and businesses, according to local media.

Last year, Fukushima reported over 9,000 cases of non-compliant garbage.

Currently, instead of collecting trash that does not comply with disposal rules, workers usually paste stickers on trash bags informing residents of the violation. Residents would then have to take their trash back inside, re-sort it and hope they get it right the next time collectors come around.

Under Fukushima’s new rules, if the trash remains unsorted for a week, city workers can go through it and try to identify the offenders via items such as mail. The violators will be issued a verbal warning, followed by a written advisory, before the last resort: having their names published on the government website.

Amid privacy concerns, Fukushima authorities said that the inspection of the trash would be carried out in private.

Japanese cities each have their own guides on how to dispose of rubbish. In Fukushima, trash bags have to be placed at collection points every morning by 0830 – but cannot be left out from the night before.

Different types of garbage – separated into combustibles, non-combustibles, and recyclables – are collected according to different schedules.

For items that exceed stipulated dimensions, like household appliances and furniture, residents have to make an appointment for them to be collected separately.

Fukushima’s mayor, Hiroshi Kohata, said that the new rules were meant to promote waste reduction and proper disposal methods.

“There is nothing illegal about publicising malicious waste generators who do not abide by the rules and do not follow the city’s guidance and advisory,” the Mainichi quoted authorities as saying.

Trash is taken very seriously in Japan, where since the 1990s the government has made it a national goal to shift away from landfills, reduce waste and promote recycling. Local authorities have introduced their own initiatives in line with this goal.

Residents in Kamikatsu, a Japanese town with an ambitious zero-waste goal, proudly sort their trash into 45 categories. Kagoshima prefecture has made it mandatory for residents to write their names on their trash bags. And last year the city of Chiba piloted an AI assistant to help residents dispose their trash properly.