Job Discussion Forums

[matador]

Is it only me or has anyone else had trouble with neighbourhood gomi rule enforcers knocking on your door giving you grief/garbage collectors being really over the top in enforcing the seperation of burnable/non-burnable/plastic/metal/glass....?

[JimDunlop2]

Yup! And it's still a sore point with my wife -- so I don't wanna bring it up and talk about it....

[VanKen]

[matador]

Agreed; recycling is cool. I taught in Germany back in 2003 and they were totally into the green lifestyle.

Great. I am tech-head green-groover myself....

But in Japan it just seems to be more....I don't know...can't put my finger on it...

There's a word but....can't quite find it....

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

If it turns into way too much of a problem, get a black mask (to hide your identity), some plastic bags and head on over to the 7/11 late at night and get rid of the evidence into their recycling bins!

[JimDunlop2]

[ironopolis]

I've known quite a few foreigners in Japan who've been blamed for rubbish being incorrectly disposed of, when they were not the guilty ones at all, and it had just been assumed, "ah...naruhodo....must be the gaijin in the building".

A friend of mine last year got summoned to her boss's office to be given a (gentle, admittedly) telling off about leaving her gomi at the entrance to her apartment building, instead of taking it to the proper place round the corner. When she protested that she had never once failed to take it to the proper place, her boss said, "sorry, someone saw you".

She was adamant that this was a lie, as she'd made the effort on the day she moved in to find out the gomi arrangements and had followed them to the letter. I'd helped her move in and was with her when we asked her neighbours about where to put the gomi and when. I also know her to be meticulous about tidiness and cleanliness to a quite anal degree, so I can't imagine her to be the kind who'd just dump a bag of rubbish at her building entrance.

But rule infringement + foreigner in vicinity can only possibly mean one thing, can't it ........so if the evidence points against this conclusion, let's just invent some that points the way we want it to, eh?


I would agree that Japan's system probably seems more of a big deal to those of us who come from countries, where we just throw it away and couldn't care less. The UK is very much like that and British attitudes are hard to change, and friends from other English speaking countries seem to say the same for where they're from.
It is crazy in Japan, however, that in spite of some admirable efforts to recycle, they're ridiculously wasteful with packaging in the first place. Buy a kitkat from 7-11 and its inside wrapper, which it would be perfectly fine to sell in, is covered by a box, and it'll also be put in a plastic bag by the cashier even if you're not buying anything else - madness! And we haven't even mentioned waribashi yet!

[gonzarelli]

I've also had trouble with an elderly couple banging on my door after I put the gomi out. I didn't answer the door though. I looked through the peep hole and saw them holding my gomi bag. It could only mean one thing. They stood out there for over 10 minutes banging on my door.

Sometimes, I throw out some gomi and I happen to glance back before I walk in my apato. There out of nowhere is a little old lady inspecting the bag I just threw out. She was nowhere to be found until I threw out my stuff.

Yeah, the packaging is crazy. I once tried to buy one of those chocolate square blocks for 20 yen. The guy reaches down and tries to bag it! I told him no and he said thanks

What I don't really like is getting a coffee to go. Why does it go into a huge paper bag? Just let me carry it as it is. The way things are packaged makes me think it's Christmas year round in Japan.

Any time I try to protest this packaging thing with friends, I'm told I don't understand Japanese culture.

[David W]

I've actually been the gomi nazi, oh the power bwahahahahahaha, was like being a moderator.

[J.]

I've heard, no proof you understand, that some people like to read through others' garbage. And that might be their Japanese neighbors too, if they thought they could get away with it. Probably half curiousity and half obsessive-compulsiveness, which people tend to be prone to 'round here. So maybe she was just trying to get something to gossip about, things being a little dull in her life recently. But men are equally prone to garbage-snooping . I had a run-in with one guy who followed me home with the garbage and was a bit belligerent and redundant about the whole business until I got a bit rude to him. "Yeh-yeh. I UNDERSTAND, OKAY?"

Anyway, the garbage police have disappeared around here since most of the private houses have been replaced with businesses of some kind. Plus, now I just get up EARLIER than them.

[matador]

What sometimes gets me is that people in my area seem to believe the gomi area should be sparkling clean all the time.

Er...no... its the gomi area; its quite possible you WON'T be able to eat your dinner off it... I agree it should be kept as clean as possible but its not a semiconductor manufacturing plant!!

Although try telling that to some of the residents. Trying to apply some reason to things only confuses the matter. I once had to leave for the airport at about 5am in the morning....I took out the gomi...then went to Narita. When I got back there was a letter telling me the error of my ways...I put out my gomi TOO EARLY.

I tried explaining this to the neighbours when I saw a couple of them but rather than, HEAVEN FORBID, applying some common sense to the rules, I was just met with a series of 'Hmmmms' and 'Well, this is Japan..." and "Its the rule"..."manner des"...

There is also hassle about the TIME you put it out. Apparently the optimum time is about 15 mins prior to the pick up time at 8.15am. I used to work for a school and I could only put the gomi out at 9.30pm when I stopped work and locked up the school. I did not start work until 1pm the next day.

...as you can imagine this caused quite a stir in the area. I had the gomi returned to me, a letter typed out for me in English and some very cross people!

In all sincerity they wanted me there at 8am next morning and then (thanks for the cool idea!) drinking coffee at Macdonalds until I started work...at 1pm.

Apologies for laboring the point and I do believe rules are important but they need to be adaptable as situations evolve.

...and what IS the correct day for putting out a glass container with a plastic cap and paper labelling... ?

[6810]

IT's really not so hard...

Once you get used to it.

THe problem is if you move around a bit. Every neighborhood seems a little different in its rules and its rule enforcers.

I live in a new building and the garbage mistakes here were comitted by my J-partner twice (but not me... he he) and numerous other neighbors - almost every other week!

My building is also in a down town area and they are rather stricter than where I was before.

I too have been a gomi nazi! Actually, it was a scheduled one off recycling day and I had to put out the boxes etc...

[Glenski]

I live in a city where they are VERY strict about separating garbage. We were given a highly detailed pamphlet to describe what to do.

Perhaps "gomi nazis" have come because you have not put in the right stuff on the right day. Have some sense before you judge people. Do you even understand what they are saying, or do you just assume they enjoy visiting you (a big hairy scary foreigner with barely passable language skills) and toting a bag of ..... gulp!!..... garbage?

Learn how to do it right. There's a reason, whether you live in Japan or your home country. Ignore the Earth and it will go away.

[JimDunlop2]

I can relate to the time thing -- especially putting out trash too early. In my neighborhood if you do, all the cats come out and tear the bags to shreds and create a terrible mess. I get irate when I see that too.

But like I said, it would be great if a) people didn't bloody well ASSUME all the time and b) treat others with a little bit of respect -- ask politely first -- you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. If the old bat down the road had been nice, I would've just apologized, smiled and been more careful than to listen to others' advice about throwing my trash out and get the info directly from the city. But now, the old bitch has pissed me off so as far as I'm concerned she can go **** herself.

[southofreality]