In a Japanese city, violators of garbage sorting rules will face public condemnation and shame

In the Japanese city of Fukushima, strict measures are being implemented to ensure proper sorting of waste. Residents who violate the established rules are threatened with public condemnation and shame, informs edition of the Independent.

According to the current rules, if the garbage is not properly sorted, yellow warning stickers are affixed to the garbage bags. In such cases, residents should return these bags home and properly sort the waste.

In March 2025, new regulations will come into effect in Fukushima Prefecture. From now on, bags with incorrectly sorted garbage will be marked with red stickers. If they are not collected within a week, the municipal authorities will have the right to check the contents of the packages to identify violators.

Such persons will first be given a verbal reprimand, followed by a written warning. If these measures do not have an effect, the names of violators will be published on the official website of the city government. The decision would make Fukushima the first Japanese city to implement household-level garbage bag inspections, although similar measures have long been applied to businesses.

Japan has a very thorough garbage sorting system. On different days of the week, citizens are required to take out different types of waste: combustible, non-combustible, recyclable or organic. There are separate rules for electronics or furniture that require prior agreement on their collection.

In order to reduce the volume of garbage, which according to 2022 data is an average of 1.08 kg per person per day, which exceeds the national average of 880 grams, a corresponding decree was adopted on December 17. In Fukushima, about 9,000 cases of violations of waste sorting rules were recorded. This led to the accumulation of “non-liquid” garbage, which caused an increase in the number of crows digging in the waste.

Also, after the use of sarin in the Tokyo subway in 1995, most garbage cans were removed from public places for safety reasons. This measure has made it difficult for residents to dispose of garbage, who are forced to store waste at home until the designated collection day.

Fukushima city officials stress that package inspections will be conducted confidentially, without outsiders present, to avoid privacy concerns. At the same time, they noted that disclosing information about systematic violators of sorting rules does not contradict the law, because such actions are necessary to maintain public order.