Japanese Recycling is one of those things you need to experience before you die. It’s both amazing and annoying, and then depressing. If you’re like me (and you totally are) you probably think of Japan as a very clean country where recycling is king. I’ll let you in on something though, it’s a total farce.

First off, yes, Japan does have insane amounts of recycling laws. Every week I must separate out my trash into various bins. I had a friend who lived on a small island where they required her to separate out her trash into 61 different types of bins. It was insane to see.

While this all looks interesting, below the surface you find out something else. For instance Japan burns over 80% of its trash. Yup. Burns. Some of it is recycled, but even then many ‘recyclable’ things are burned if market conditions are not right (as in its not worth the money to recycle the stuff). Burning is great, as long as you don’t mind the heavy air pollution.

Also, due to strict laws, getting rid of an appliance or piece of furniture costs a bundle. It is in fact far cheaper to drip your microwave off to the side of the road than it is to take it to a disposal center. And people do. The same thing applies to cars.

My favorite irony of Japan is this. I go to buy a small box of cookies, only $2. I buy the box, which is made of plastic. I get a plastic bag when I check out. I open the box to find that each cookie is wrapped up in plastic. In the end I think I end up with more plastic than cookies. Thanks Japan.