Japanese community goes zero waste
Talk about pushy. The mayor of the small town of Kamikatsu in eastern Japan has decreed community members must compost and recycle everything. What can't be composted has to be taken to a recycling center where they must sort their garbage into 34 recycling bins. The decision by Kamikatsu's mayor is partly economic. It costs the city less money to recycle and compost thoroughly than it does to incinerate the waste for energy.
But full responsibility for garbage falls on residents shoulders. The styrofoam trays used to hold meat have to be washed before being recycled; labels must be removed. Residents sort polyethylene teraphthalate bottles from other types of plastic containers because PET are more valuable. Pens and razors have boxes of their own.
Residents say composting and sorting does take more time, but they are more aware of what they throw out, what they use and how. The mayor of Kamikatsu says every community should follow his lead.
[via BBC]
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