Tax the trash
The third year students are debating whether or not the Japanese government should impose a tax on household rubbish. For example, by introducing a system where households putting out their rubbish for collection must use a certain type of bag which they pay extra charges for. Apparently, this system has already been brought in in more rural areas of Hokkaido, and Sapporo is considering following suit. Apart from the obvious problems, such as people dumping their rubbish illegally, I think this is an excellent idea for changing the way people think about the waste they produce.
The hardest thing for me about living in Japan has not been the language, or feeling homesick, or trying to find clothes that fit me. It has been witnessing the waste. Everyday, I watch the rubbish bins in the staffroom pile up and overflow with plastic bento boxes and disposable chopsticks. Everyday, I see people accepting plastic bags and utensils for everything they buy, no matter how small, at convenience stores and supermarkets. I use teabags which come in individual wrappers. I hear women flushing the toilet twice, because they are ashamed of the sound they make. I buy tampons with plastic applicators, because there are none without. I say no to people standing outside my subway station everyday pressing flyers onto me. I see people in cafes using plastic or paper cups and plates when they are eating IN. I’ve given up on going to the café I wrote about before, Morimoto, because last time I went, I was hit by the realization about what a disgusting amount of disposables they use. There was an article last week in the online Japan Times saying that Japan is probably uses the most plastic of any country in the world. They are well-known for being the country to import the largest amount of hardwood timber, much of which goes into seemingly unnecessary public works projects, such as the wooden moulds for the ubiquitous concrete girders and tetrapods which litter so many of Japan’s beautiful rivers and shoreline.
There’s an older guy I work with. He brings his own homemade lunch to school, and uses his own chopsticks to eat it with. After that he washes his chopsticks and returns them to their case. He reuses envelopes. OK, whole rainforests have died to make his class handouts for the term, but this man seems to me part of an older generation who know how to take care of their resources. Who are used to having less. He reminds me of my Great Aunt, who was so thrifty that she wouldn’t even write in my birthday cards, so I could use them again! That was a bit over-the-top (it's pretty depressing to get a blank birthday card), but you get the picture. According to Japan’s oldest religion, Shinto religion, waste is a sin. Before industrialization and the bubble economy, it was a moral virtue to live in harmony with nature. Japan’s traditions are in accordance with that. Take for example, furoshiki, a kind of beautifully dyed cloth which is used to wrap things and can be used again and again. In the past, everyone used furoshiki for wrapping things to carry, or gifts. Now, it’s all about plastic and paper, and huge ribbons and bows. Japan’s traditional culture has been disappearing under a new culture of capitalism and convenience. I’m sure I will notice the same problems when I go back to New Zealand. I don’t think it’s a cultural problem. I think it’s an economic problem. Us developed countries haven’t developed a way of dealing with our wealth and waste. We’re rolling in our own rubbish.
Taxing the trash seems to me to be a step in the direction of forcing people to become personally responsible for their waste. How about this for a great system? Japanese students clean their school themselves, everyday, after school. It’s awesome! New Zealand schools should bring it in too, I think. The students get put in groups and assigned a different room every week. It takes ten minutes tops because they keep the school so clean. They are aware that if they make a mess, they will have to clean it up. Isn’t that the way it should be?
The hardest thing for me about living in Japan has not been the language, or feeling homesick, or trying to find clothes that fit me. It has been witnessing the waste. Everyday, I watch the rubbish bins in the staffroom pile up and overflow with plastic bento boxes and disposable chopsticks. Everyday, I see people accepting plastic bags and utensils for everything they buy, no matter how small, at convenience stores and supermarkets. I use teabags which come in individual wrappers. I hear women flushing the toilet twice, because they are ashamed of the sound they make. I buy tampons with plastic applicators, because there are none without. I say no to people standing outside my subway station everyday pressing flyers onto me. I see people in cafes using plastic or paper cups and plates when they are eating IN. I’ve given up on going to the café I wrote about before, Morimoto, because last time I went, I was hit by the realization about what a disgusting amount of disposables they use. There was an article last week in the online Japan Times saying that Japan is probably uses the most plastic of any country in the world. They are well-known for being the country to import the largest amount of hardwood timber, much of which goes into seemingly unnecessary public works projects, such as the wooden moulds for the ubiquitous concrete girders and tetrapods which litter so many of Japan’s beautiful rivers and shoreline.
There’s an older guy I work with. He brings his own homemade lunch to school, and uses his own chopsticks to eat it with. After that he washes his chopsticks and returns them to their case. He reuses envelopes. OK, whole rainforests have died to make his class handouts for the term, but this man seems to me part of an older generation who know how to take care of their resources. Who are used to having less. He reminds me of my Great Aunt, who was so thrifty that she wouldn’t even write in my birthday cards, so I could use them again! That was a bit over-the-top (it's pretty depressing to get a blank birthday card), but you get the picture. According to Japan’s oldest religion, Shinto religion, waste is a sin. Before industrialization and the bubble economy, it was a moral virtue to live in harmony with nature. Japan’s traditions are in accordance with that. Take for example, furoshiki, a kind of beautifully dyed cloth which is used to wrap things and can be used again and again. In the past, everyone used furoshiki for wrapping things to carry, or gifts. Now, it’s all about plastic and paper, and huge ribbons and bows. Japan’s traditional culture has been disappearing under a new culture of capitalism and convenience. I’m sure I will notice the same problems when I go back to New Zealand. I don’t think it’s a cultural problem. I think it’s an economic problem. Us developed countries haven’t developed a way of dealing with our wealth and waste. We’re rolling in our own rubbish.
Taxing the trash seems to me to be a step in the direction of forcing people to become personally responsible for their waste. How about this for a great system? Japanese students clean their school themselves, everyday, after school. It’s awesome! New Zealand schools should bring it in too, I think. The students get put in groups and assigned a different room every week. It takes ten minutes tops because they keep the school so clean. They are aware that if they make a mess, they will have to clean it up. Isn’t that the way it should be?
2 Comments:
My town charges for garbage bags. It isn't too expensive. A bag of 45 litre bags costs 700yen and usually lasts me about 3 months. Me of course living alone and not having a spouse or children or other garbage producing entities living with me. I have a contest to see how long I can use only one garbage bag. My longest so far is 3.5 weeks. Sometimes it smells funny but that's why someone invented Nag Champa and summer breezes. I do seem to amass an incredible amount of plastic though... When I get home I'm going to experiment with a worm composter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculture
james
I wonder if garbage has decreased since they introduced that in your area? Apparently it has worked quite well in some places. The fact that it's not expensive might mean people feel less inclined to dump illegally. The main aim of the scheme should be to change people's way of thinking, rather than to collect extra taxes, I think.
コメントを投稿
<< Home