Trash Troubles...

My day started like any other day in Japan...

I woke up in the early morning and tried to make another agenda for my day. I needed to take care of a few things.  I knew it was trash day today, and I have quite a bit of trash from all the groceries and equipment I needed to buy since I have been to Japan.  I was ready to get the bags out of my house.

That is one thing that is very different from America.  There does not seem to be any outdoor trash cans that I can see.  People just keep all the trash in their house until it is time to throw it away.  I also have a few bags of trash sitting in my kitchen.  These might not be what you think of as a trash bag.  The concept of the "big black bag" does not exist here.  This entire country is based on reusing what they have.  80% of Japan is not arid land.  Now everything they can reuse, they will.  So the "garbage bags" I'm talking about is nothing but a regular grocery bag filled and tied at the top.

I was just planning on taking all my bags out to the trash pick up area and leaving them there, but I heard from my boss that I need to have the correct bag to throw them away...

"The correct bag?" (this seemed to me like scheme to get me to pay more money)

"Do they have different bags?"

It was after I asked this questions that I learned just how conservative and Eco-conscious Japan really is.  The trash comes almost everyday (4 times a week) and they pick up different things every day.  One day is cans, one day is bottles of glass, one day is plastic bottles, twice a week is burnables, and once a month in non-burnables.

This dawned and entire new era of questions.  "what are they picking up today", "What do I do with the trash they don't want today?", "Where do I get the correct bags for throwing these things away?" "what is considered burnable" and so forth.  

I was told to go to the Midori home page and find out what I should do about the trash everyday.  

I went there....

http://www.city.midori.gunma.jp/

All Japanese....

I hit the translate button...

All Japanese....

"Dammit!  What do I throw away!!!???"  

I called my girlfriend.  I asked her to help me.  She was extremely tired from trying to stay up and work on job interviews all night.  She was in no mood to talk to me about garbage.  She gave me a brief summary of what I can and cannot throw out today.  Today was burnable, and for the rest of the week, I have paper on Wednesday, Cans on Thursday, and burnables again on Friday....

Why are there a burnables AND a paper???  What do they consider burnables?  This is going to be a pain...

Basically what Lisa told me, was I need to separate all my trash into different groups and throw them out on a specific day.  She also told me that I need to put my name on the bag, so if they catch someone trying to throw away something bad, they can fine you.  (Remember this, it is important!)

I needed to do a good job.  I needed to sort my trash.

"Ok! Lets sort out trash!"

"Today's mission, throw away burnables."

I open up my first bag of trash.  Now this was not so bad because I was only digging through MY trash and it was only a small grocery's bag worth of trash at a time.

"OK... what is this???  Styrofoam ... non burnables.  chop sticks... hey great, burnables!"

"what do we have here?? A beer can? That should go in cans."

"What about orange peels... Organics???"  "Let's make a separate bag for theses"

And this went on for a few minutes until I grabbed the second to last bag.  I opened the grocery bag to sort it....

NOT AGAIN!

It was the Sorcerer putty bag!   The vile goop was covering all the trash in this bag.  There was NO WAY I was going to dig thought that awful mess again.  Not a chance. Never in a million years.  Once was enough.

I remembered how I have to sign my name on the bags for insurance that I follow the rules with a threat of fine hanging above my head...

So now digging though this goop to separate the Styrofoam out, I am gagging again.  I still don't have gloves.  I still don't have any way to scoop it but with my hands.  I'm gagging and my eyes are watering yet again.  I have to sift through a bag of awful in order to get out a few pieces of Styrofoam and some organics.  

Just as I am digging out the last orange peel my phone rings.

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN EVERY TIME I AM WRIST DEEP IN HORRID SORCERER PUTTY?!

It was Lisa.

Lisa: "so I read more about the trash"

Me: "oh my god, this is awful!"

Lisa: "well burnables include organic material, small pieces of paper other burnable materials and Styrofoam.."

Me: "THEY BURN STYROFOAM HERE???"

Lisa: "Yeah, most things are considered burnables.  They also burn old food" 

I just sat and looked at my phone.  

The Sorcerer in his infinite wisdom had tangled this web of tricks for me... I had to sift through that wretched (and now just sticky from partially dying) mess for a second time to separate out organics, and Styrofoam.  Both of these are considered burnables...  

DAMN YOU SORCERER!!!!!!!

I was very upset because there was no reason for me to DIG though that bag.  I should have just threw it all away.

After scrubbing the skin off my hands for a second time, I sat down for a moment.  It was not even 9:00 yet, and I already had to revisit one of the worst experiences of my life in Japan to date.  

After this my day was pretty uneventful.

I went to the store, cleaned a little bit, watered my garden, and went to work.

Now today, work was kind of interesting.  I remember when I arrived at work yesterday even though my boss provided me with a bike, I walked to work.  When I was returning home, my boss seemed upset that I walked.  I figured it was because he went through the trouble of fixing my bike for me, and I was not using it.   I felt bad when I was walking home in the pitch black non-lit streets of Midori.

Today I was going to give it a try.  I put on my suit and walked outside.  I looked at my bike....

I froze and had about 10 minutes of horrible situations that race through my head.
-Falling off my bike while wearing a suit
-Riding though a deep puddle while wearing my suit
-Having the chain catch my pants while wearing my suit
-Hitting a poor child who is walking down the street minding her own business but becaue I have never riddent a bike in Japan before, I'm not totally sure of the rules, and I would hit her, and she would fall to the ground with 6 broken bones, and I would be forced to give her CPR while trying to call out for help but I can't becasue I don't remember the word for help in Japanese but when I finally get someone they blame me and then I have to try to explain that I was only going to work and she was walking on the wrong side of the road......... in my suit.

So my basic trend if you were not following.... Is im terrified of riding a bike in Japan and I am horrified of destroying my suits... (I don't have many and they don't make cloths big enough for me here...)

I almost walked, but then I realized...  1) If I don't ride, I will upset my boss again. 2) If I do ride, and something bad happens, I will have something hilarious to write about on this blog.

So off I went on my bike.

I traveled to the school in no time at all.  Maybe 5 minutes tops.  It was great.  I had my briefcase in the basket of my bike, and I was wearing my suit.  I was so excited.

After teaching, I had to return home.  It was dark again... Very dark.  That "you open the fridge at night and the bright light blinds you, and you have to take 30 seconds to let your eyes adjust again before you can make out basic shapes", kind of dark.

I sat on my bike, thinking, "this might not be a good idea"...  But again... I'll do it for my blog....

I set out into the night.

When I started to peddle... THERE WAS A LIGHT!

My bike comes equipped with a special light that is powered by the motion of my peddling.  When I stop peddling, the light turns off; if I go slow, the light is dim; if I put it into a lower gear and peddle faster, the light gets brighter.  Japan's conservative nature strikes again!

HOW COOL IS THAT!

Tomorrow I will venture out to the main grocery store to replenish my food supply. Stay tuned for more of my Japanese Adventures.