This Japanese Town Shows How 'Zero Waste' Is Done

The garbage collection center in Japan's victory has separate boxes containing various kinds of paper products such as newspapers, magazines, cartons, leaflets and so on. Then there are separate cans: aluminum, spray, steel. There are also bottles for PET bottles and caps. However, according to the short documentary of Seeker Stories, this is only a part of the 34 categories in which the upper victims separate the garbage.

This might seem overkill, but a small Japanese town has a population of over 1,700 people, and its goal is to become the country 's first "lean" community by 2020. Also, they are almost there. According to the video, Kamikatsu recycles about 80% of the waste and the last 20% enters the landfill. This progress is 12 years old. In 2003, Shinkin announced the waste of ambition. In order to avoid harming the environment and the population, the town abandoned the custom of throwing out garbage with wildfire.

Since there is no garbage truck, all residents must clean up the garbage, sort it and bring it to the recycling center - the residents acknowledge taking time to get used to. The worker oversees the sorting process so that garbage enters the correct bottle. Some second - hand goods are brought to the company for resale or reuse of clothing, toys and accessories.

Mr. Neil Celderman, co-founder and chairman of local independent autonomous research institutes, said that Kamikatsu is attracting international attention for its ambitious goal, but it is not the only town that has made progress It was. "There are hundreds of thousands of people in Berkeley, California, hundreds of thousands of people, San Francisco reports 70%, and some cities in the US are over 70%," he told CityLab. "In Italy, they are similar to [Kamikatsu], but there are many different separations and declines," he added. In most cases, these efforts are led by grass-roots organizations.

According to the latest estimates by environmental protection agencies, the recovery rate in the United States is only about 34%. CityLab with Washington Lab is only about 16%. Seldman criticized low interest rates primarily because 60% of the waste market is managed by two companies (Allied and Waste Management, Inc.) - Profit from landfill

Another thing he condemns is politics. He said: "Your Republicans do not think the ocean is rising, and they do not care." "In addition to Bernie Sanders, the other two Democratic presidential candidates are candidates "

On the other hand, Japan has also reduced recycling. The law obliges companies to recycle, the country's selection system is the world's most extensive screening system. In Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan with a population of 7 million people, citizens will receive a 27 page manual on how to classify over 500 different items.

"If you get used to it, it will be normal," Kamikatsu residents said in a video. "I have not thought about it now. It is commonplace to properly sort garbage."

How can we improve today's situation? There are many things that can be done locally to reduce waste. Several countries and cities are leading the way. The goal of San Francisco, California, is to achieve "zero waste" by 2020 (reduction and recycling 100% waste transfers), more than 55% of waste is recycled or reused. Kawasaki city in Japan improved the industrial process by moving 565,000 tons of potential waste per year. This is beyond all municipal waste currently being processed in the city. Exchange and reuse materials for connecting steel companies, cement companies, chemical companies, and paper companies to industrial ecosystems 3

This might seem overkill, but a small Japanese town has a population of over 1,700 people, and its goal is to become the country 's first "lean" community by 2020. Also, they are almost there. According to the video, Kamikatsu recycles about 80% of the waste and the last 20% enters the landfill. This progress is 12 years old. In 2003, Shinkin announced the waste of ambition. In order to avoid harming the environment and the population, the town abandoned the custom of throwing out garbage with wildfire.

Firstly, Kamikatsu publicly burned their trash. However, after seeing the adverse impact of the process on the environment and humans, the people in the town have decided to make a plan without waste. This program began in 2003, since then 80% of the town's waste has been recycled, reused, or mixed.