The New Normal interview series: Where does our trash go?

‘My company’s main business is the collection and transportation of trash produced by companies. The coronavirus crisis has made working from home common, greatly changing people’s daily lives. But our industry hasn’t seen much change. Most companies, despite reducing the number of people working in the office, have obviously kept operating as usual, and that means they’ve kept producing trash as usual.

‘Collecting trash from homes and offices and transporting it to a disposal plant isn’t something you can do remotely – at least not until robots capable of doing that are developed. Trash produced in an office building gets collected and placed in that building’s disposal area, but most buildings don’t have much space and need to have their disposal areas emptied frequently to prevent overflow. Some of the trash is food waste, so you can’t just leave it out to rot. That’s why companies such as mine have been collecting and transporting garbage as usual throughout the pandemic, including when the state of emergency was in effect.

‘Us garbage collectors have no way of knowing who’s infected and whether the buildings we service are taking appropriate measures to stop the spread. The trash we collect often contains used masks and tissues, and plastic containers with liquid in them. Not all trash bags are properly closed, and some rip when handled. Our workers obviously have to pick up any trash that falls out, so they’re constantly faced with the risk of infection.

‘Waste management is essential for a functioning society. When the state of emergency was declared, the central and local governments issued requests to companies in our field, asking us to continue operating as usual. Everyone in the industry kept going, of course while taking precautionary measures such as wearing masks and gloves, hand-washing, gargling and thoroughly disinfecting equipment.

‘With people staying home and working from home, most waste management companies with corporate clients had to deal with a significant reduction in the amount of trash handled. Our collection volume in April was only one third of what it usually is.

‘Waste management companies often get paid based on the amount of waste they handle. When there’s less waste our sales go down, but our costs stay mostly the same. That obviously affects cash flow, but there are no public support schemes specific to waste management, just the usual loan support mechanisms for small and medium-sized businesses. We are being asked to maintain the quality and coverage of our services in situations such as during the state of emergency, so I think there should also be a framework of public support we could lean on when necessary. While society is bracing for a second wave, building such as framework in time would help ensure that offices and the city as a whole remain functional, no matter what happens.’

‘While the amount of trash produced by businesses is down significantly, the amount of household waste is going up. The Clean Authority of Tokyo, which is in charge of waste management within the city’s 23 wards, estimates that the volume of business-produced burnable waste brought to disposal plants in May 2020 was more than 40 percent lower than in May 2019. Burnable household waste, on the other hand, increased by about 10 percent. This is a result of people working from home and avoiding outings.

‘We are seeing an increase in household waste and a concurrent decrease in business-produced waste, but the risk of infection that garbage collectors are exposed to is there nonetheless. Speaking as a representative of a waste management company, I hope everyone would take care to handle their trash in a way that reduces the risk of infection.

‘First, when you’re throwing away masks, tissues and other items that could have droplets on them, make sure to put them in a plastic bag and close that bag carefully before putting it in the trash. Also avoid filling trash bags until they look like they might burst (70 or 80 percent full is a good rule of thumb), and squeeze out any excess air before closing the bag. Simple steps like that help decrease the infection risk borne by garbage collectors.

‘Some local governments now recommend that plastic bottles used by anyone who may be infected with the coronavirus should be placed among burnable waste. The usual rules of putting out trash may have been changed temporarily, so make sure to check your municipality’s website for the latest information.

‘The amount of plastic waste produced by households seems to be increasing, in part due to more people getting takeout and having food delivered. Most of Tokyo’s 23 wards collect plastic waste as burnable waste, but some municipalities collect plastic separately for recycling purposes.

‘If you live in an area where plastic is collected separately, please rinse off any dirty plastic items before throwing them in the trash. Dirty food containers can’t be recycled and have to be burned instead, defeating the purpose of separating trash. I hope everyone does what they can to facilitate efficient recycling.’

‘I’ve had plenty of time to think during the coronavirus crisis, and this has helped me notice many things I hadn’t thought of before. Take remote working: it’s been technically possible for years, but we were so tied to existing habits and styles of work that change seemed hard to come by. But now we’ve been forced to embrace working from home, just to avoid close contact with others.

‘Few people could have imagined this kind of situation, but it’s here now. I think the current crisis has been a process of discovery for many of us. We’ve noticed that elements of everyday life that seemed self-evident actually aren’t, and have had to reorient our expectations and biases. I think this also applies to the question of waste.

‘The waste management infrastructure in Japan is highly developed, so we usually aren’t presented with that many opportunities to think about trash. As someone working in waste management, I hope this crisis will encourage people to rethink this matter, to make the way trash is handled more visible. I’d be happy if people gained a deeper understanding of where their trash goes.

‘People in my field work hard every day to keep the city clean and hygienic. That’s why I hope everyone reading this will take a moment to think whether things they don’t need anymore could be recycled or reused instead of thrown away. I’d like this crisis to become an opportunity for people to imagine what a life without waste might look like for them, and to push people to take into account the recycling perspective when buying things.’