I have avoided this topic for quite some time, for fear of sounding paranoid or overly-attentive to detail. But now it's gone on long enough, and it's time I tell you all about it.
Japan has very strict garbage-sorting rules: what to burn, what not to burn, what to cut up, what to tie in very specific ribbon before throwing out, what to de-cap, what to recycle...and there are certain dates for disposing of certain materials: cardboard, aluminum, glass, broken electric stuff, newspapers, styrofoam, cloth and fabrics, plastics, large household items, small household items...ALL of these things can only be thrown away on ONE day of the month. (And each type of item has a different disposal day, so you can't just throw it out together. Everything must be sorted.) Also, what DAY you're allowed to throw things away changes every month. For example, in January I have to hold my aluminum cans until the 19th. But in February I can get rid of them on the 10th.
I dump my "normal," burnable garbage on Tuesdays and Fridays only, about one block away from my apartment. But for all other products listed above, I haul them to the dump-site about 4 blocks away. To a gaijin this seems like quite a long, complicated, ridiculous process. In fact, after a few months I quit buying aluminum cans altogether, because I don't like dealing with throwing them away. All my beer and soft-drink consumption takes place outside my home.
Because of all this sorting, I'm acutely more aware of what I throw away. I pay attention to the packaging, what the products are made of, and how fast I fill my garbage cans. Which brings me to the point of my story: I am convinced someone is going through my trash.
This is very strange, but perhaps not very surprising. Other than John, I'm the only white person for a 20-mile radius. I've run into more than one person I've never spoken to before (the cashier at the drugstore, the waitress at the coffee shop, etc.), and they have all said, "Oh, you're the teacher!" It's a strange feeling to know that everything you buy, consume, and do outside your home really IS being monitored by someone else. Considering how interested people are in what goes into my buggie at the grocery store, it may not be shocking that people are interested in what goes into my trash.
How did I come to this conclusion? I am very punctual about my dumping (hah), and I always dump on the correct day and in the correct place -- along with everyone else in my neighborhood. By the time I come home from work, all the garbage is removed, and the street corner is left tidy and blank...except (!) for a few things that have blown up and down the street. Those few things always belong to me.
Now, I always tie my garbage bags closed, in the "correct" way, as carefully instructed by my Japanese friend. So I tie, dump, and dispose of my trash in exactly the same manner, on exactly the same days, as everyone else in my neighborhood. Yet my trash is the only trash I see strewn on the road. I have seen things that could have only belonged to me: wrapping paper from friends at home, empty bags of candy that I just bought for students, packaging for the exact same pen I just bought, small boxes that covered presents from Japanese friends, and (the real kicker) a Crest toothpaste box that could have only come from me, from America, as such toothpaste does not exist in Japan.
The first time this happened, I blamed it on the wind, even though no one else's trash was lying about. The second time this happened, I blamed it on my bag-tying skills, even though I knew that was a stupid excuse. The third time this happened, I blamed it on the garbage men, even though they didn't spill anyone else's garbage. But today was the tenth, yes the tenth, time this has happened, and I thought that was enough evidence to provide me with a post.
It's funny: even though my trash no longer "belongs" to me, the thought of someone picking it apart still makes me feel strange and self-conscious, even violated if it's taken to extremes. I mean, do you really want someone else inspecting your garbage? No. You toss the stuff one time, and forget about it. But in Japan, I find myself thinking, "Gomi, poi! Uhhh....mo ikkai."
3 comments:
Funny, it never occurred to me that this would make someone think of using the bathroom. I was so wrapped up thinking about garbage bags my mind never went past the literal topic. Sorry it did for you.
The Sunshine Will is gomi poi.
Very interesting. Although I was acutely aware of being monitered in Moscow, I never imagined that 'normal' (non-diplomatic) American citizens would be observed in such detail in a non-hostile country. Once again, I'm proven incorrect! But the recycling bit is interesting too--Americans are so wasteful. Hoewever in Russia, they recycle squat! When there is no recycling available, I became aware of just how much it bugged me. I wonder if you it will bug you when you come back to America and see some people don't recycle at all.
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