In 2003, the Japanese municipality of Kamikatsu declared their intention to become a Zero-Waste Town. While true zero-waste is impossible, 20 years later the town has reached an impressive 80% recycling rate. (The national average in Japan is just 20%; in America, single digits.)

Kamikatsu has achieved this rate by studying garbage, and determining that there are 13 categories and 45 subcategories of waste. The town (population roughly 1,400) has no garbage trucks. Instead, residents bring their garbage to the town's Zero Waste Center, and separate it themselves at different stations that correspond with each of the waste categories.

The Zero Waste Center, a question-mark-shaped structure designed by architect Hiroshi Nakamura, was itself designed with low waste in mind. The façade is made of wood offcuts and features hundreds of windows donated by the community. The flooring is made from recycled glass, and a number of the fixtures were taken from abandoned buildings.

I was curious what taxonomy of garbage the town developed, so I parsed a machine translation of the town's Japanese-language garbage guidebook. (This being Japan, the guidebook is hilariously populated by Power-Rangers-like illustrations.)

Translation: "If you're not sure how to sort your waste, you can ask a worker at the Center."

Translation: "You don't have to sort everything perfectly at home; you can sort it here at the Center."

Here are Kamikatsu's 13 categories and 45 subcategories of waste:

1. Things that can still be used

Any non-food product that still has life in it (clothing, household goods, functioning appliances, books, etc.) can be brought to the facility's Kurukuru ("come and go") Shop. There the object is weighed and recorded, then it goes on display.

Only Kamikatsu residents are allowed to donate these objects, but anyone can take them for free, including non-residents. When an object is taken, it's again weighed and recorded.

"It's fun," the town's garbage guide reads, "to stop by to see if there's anything you can find while taking out the trash."

As for why everything gets weighed coming in and going out, well, the Japanese like their statistics:

Translation: "Usage results last year: 4,572kg brought in, 4,736kg taken home."

2. Food garbage

Food garbage isn't allowed. "Compost food scraps," the guide reads. "It's the only resource you can recycle yourself." The town recommends residents use compost bins, electric composters (which the town offers purchase assistance for) or Bamboo Chip composters, a Japanese invention I'll write about in another post.

Businesses, meanwhile, are encourage to use larger electric composters.

So those are the first two categories. Everything else is brought to one of the sorting stations within the facility. Some of the recyclable items return deposits, while others cost the town money to recycle. To educate the townspeople, these categories are denoted in the guidebook with icons: A piggy bank or treasure chest for items that return deposits, and a currency bill flying away for items that cost money to recycle or dispose of.

The following four categories are recyclable, and can generate money.

3. Metals

3-1. Aluminum cans and bottles (with metal caps removed)

3-2. Steel cans and bottles (with metal caps removed)

3-3. Aerosol cans (with plastic caps removed)

3-4. Metal caps

3-5. Miscellaneous metals

4. Paper

4-1. Newspaper, flyers

4-2. Cardboard

The two items on the left, with red X's, are: Cardboard lined with gold or silver foil (often used in gift boxes), and dog food bags. These belong in subcategory 4-9.

4-3. Magazines and miscellaneous paper

The three banned items: Stiff paper cores, which go to 4-7; Paper beverage cartons, which goes to 4-4; and thermal paper like receipts, which go to 4-9.

4-4. Paper beverage cartons

The plastic spouts must be cut out, and sent to subcategory 7-4; the cartons must be cut open, flattened, and cleaned of any residue inside.

4-5. Paper cup packaging

These must be cut open and flattened, and cleaned of any residue inside.

4-6. Paper beverage cartons with silver linings

Acidic or alcoholic beverage containers have different linings and thus go into a different subcategory. These must also be cut open, flattened, and cleaned of any residue inside.

4-7. Stiff paper cores

4-8. Shredded paper

Must be kept in a bag so it does not scatter.

4-9. Unrecyclable and/or contaminated paper

Receipts, dog food bags, detergent boxes, printed photographs, used tissues, etc. cannot be recycled and are burned as fuel.

5. Clothing and fabric

5-1. Clothing and blankets

If it's not going into the Kurukuru Store, it goes here. It's either sold secondhand in Japan or overseas, or recycled into other clothing. If it's really dirty, it belongs in subcategory 5-2.

5-2. Unrecyclable fabrics

Very dirty garments and unrecyclable fabrics are burned as fuel.

6. Biomass

6-1. Wood, bamboo, wicker and cork products

These are burned as fuel.

6-2. Cooking oil

Must be kept in a vessel. It is recycled into feed, soap, or fuel.

Thanks to Japanese law, the items in these next two categories must be recycled by the manufacturer. Even still, some of these do incur a fee.

7. Plastics

7-1. Recyclable plastic packaging and containers

7-2. Non-recyclable or dirty plastic packaging and containers

These are burned as fuel.

7-3. White plastic food packaging

It has to be white and it has to be clean, and then it can be recycled into more food packaging.

7-4. PET

The caps and labels must be removed, then these will be recycled, possibly into clothing. If the bottles are cut or dirty, they go to 7-2.

7-5. Plastic caps

These will be recycled by the manufacturer.

8. Glass bottles and jars

8-1. Transparent glass bottles and jars

These will be recycled by the manufacturer into more glass bottles and jars.

8-2. Brown bottles and jars.

These will be recycled by the manufacturer into more glass bottles and jars.

8-3. Other colors of glass bottles

These will be recycled by the manufacturer.

8-4. One-liter bottles, beer bottles, and soda bottles

These return a deposit. As far as I can tell, they are washed and reused by the manufacturer.

9. Dangerous objects

The Japanese are safety-minded, and anything that could cause harm to a worker—like glass or ceramic vessels or bulbs that could shatter, mercury thermometers, batteries that could explode, etc.—fall into this category. Luckily, recycling these objects does return fees.

9-1. Glass and ceramics

Will be recycled into asphalt.

9-2. Mirrors and mercury thermometers

Will be recycled (into what is not mentioned).

9-3. Lightbulbs of all types

Will be recycled into glassware.

9-4. Batteries

Will be recycled, possibly into steel products.

9-5. Car batteries

Will be recycled, possibly into lead.

9-6. Lighters

Will be recycled, possibly into steel products.

10. Bulky garbage

10-1. Bulky metal waste

Bicycles, galvanized panels, agricultural machinery, spring mattresses, etc. Will be recycled into other metals.

10-2. Bulky wood waste

Will be burned for fuel.

10-3. Bulky fabric waste

Will be burned for fuel (except carpets, which go into 10-4).

10-4. Other unrecyclable bulky objects

PVC, rubber, hoses, rugs, etc. are incinerated.

The following two categories cannot be recycled, and cost money to dispose of.

11. Unrecyclable garbage that can only be incinerated

11.1 Items for incineration

Rubber bands, PVC raincoats, footwear, facemasks, leather gloves, rubber gloves, dirty tissues, etc. are incinerated.

11.2 Biological items for incineration

These items—dirty diapers, menstrual products, pee pads, etc.--suffer the same fate as 11.1, but for obvious reasons are placed in a different container.

12. Unrecyclable garbage that can only be landfilled

Seashells, nail polish, chemical hand warmers, glass and metal that are irreparably dirty, plastic and metal that has been joined and cannot be separated.

13. Miscellaneous items that residents must pay to have disposed of

13-1. Used tires

These are burned for fuel.

13-2. Spent fire extinguishers

The documentation is not clear on what happens to these.

13-3. Appliances beyond repair

Residents must pay a specialty company that will recycle the appliance in accordance with Japanese regulations.

So that's the end of the list. As you can see, it's a pretty comprehensive breakdown, and even still, there's another 20% to go before they could become truly zero-waste. The town reckons that, since their citizens are already going all-out in waste sorting, the remaining 20% would need to be solved by manufacturers and not consumers. Which I imagine would require legislation, as no for-profit company would willingly up-end their own cost structure, not in today's short-term business climate.

In the meantime, Kamikatsu invites visitors from around the world to observe and learn about their garbage collection methods; the dot in the question mark is actually a hotel.

Lastly, here's a video demonstrating their processes, with explanations from Akira Sakano, the director of Kamikatsu's Zero Waste Academy:

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