Japanese city to name and shame people who break garbage rules

For the uninitiated, sorting trash can be a confusing process in Japan, a country that boasts one of the strictest waste disposal regulations in the world.

But in the city of Fukushima, the situation will be even tougher.

Starting in March, city officials will review bags of trash that don’t meet the rules — such as those that haven’t been properly sorted or exceed size limits — and in some cases publicly identify their owners.

The new rules, passed at a municipal meeting on Tuesday, come amid Japan’s ongoing efforts to improve its waste management system.

While many Japanese cities are opening garbage bags to inspect them, and some are allowing information on offending businesses to be revealed, according to local media, Fukushima is believed to be the first city to plan to reveal the names of both individuals and businesses.

More than 9,000 cases of inappropriate waste were reported in Fukushima last year.

Now, instead of picking up trash that doesn’t comply with disposal regulations, workers routinely affix stickers to trash bags informing residents of the violation. Then residents will have to bring their trash back indoors, re-sort it, and hope that the next time the collectors come.

Under Fukushima’s new rules, if trash remains unsorted for a week, city workers can look through it and try to identify the offenders through items such as mail. Violators will be given a verbal warning, then a written recommendation, before the final measure: publication of their names on the state website.

Amid privacy concerns, Fukushima authorities said the inspection of the debris would be conducted behind closed doors.

Every Japanese city has its own garbage disposal guidelines. In Fukushima, garbage bags must be placed at collection points every morning by 08:30, but they cannot be left out the night before.

Different types of garbage – combustible, non-combustible and secondary – are collected according to different schedules.

For items that exceed the specified dimensions, such as appliances and furniture, residents must make a separate appointment.

Fukushima Mayor Hiroshi Kohata said the new rules are intended to promote waste reduction and proper disposal methods.

“There is nothing illegal about advertising harmful waste generators that do not follow the rules and do not follow the city’s guidelines and recommendations,” Mainici quoted the authorities as saying.

Litter is taken very seriously in Japan, where since the 1990s the government has made it a national goal to avoid landfills, reduce waste and promote recycling. In accordance with this goal, local authorities came up with their own initiatives.

Residents of Kamikatsu, a Japanese city with an ambitious zero-waste goal, proudly sort their trash into 45 categories. Kagoshima Prefecture requires residents to write their names on garbage bags. And last year, the city of Chiba launched an artificial intelligence assistant that helped residents dispose of garbage correctly.