# Stupid Trash Policies And Their Unintended Consequences **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 19, 2025, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-trash-policies-and-their-unintended-consequences/1023181 "2025-09-19T11:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-trash-policies-and-their-unintended-consequences/1023181/41 "2025-09-20T10:18:00Z")
Here in Japan, we pay for garbage bags. Burnable garbage gets collected twice a week in our town and unburnable garbage twice a month. Cans, bottles and PET bottles get collected twice a month as well, but on different days. In my town, oversized garbage is collected on the same day and unburnable garage but you play a nominal amount for each piece. The oversized garbage has to be less than about 180 cm. There are stations for cardboard, magazines and other paper related recycling. Certain electronics can be taken at some stations. They have a center where you can take all the garbage you want and it’s reasonably priced. I’m fixing up a house and I haul my trash there. It’s about US$30 for a small pickup truck’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-trash-policies-and-their-unintended-consequences/1023181/42 "2025-09-20T15:29:47Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > On this note, I’ve gone through the ups and downs of the 90s concern about “landfills are filling up, we’re all doomed!” to the 00s reality of “actually we have lots of space for landfills, this isn’t a big deal” And in fact, dumping stuff in landfills, especially paper stuff, is actually a good thing. That’s carbon sequestration, which we’ll need to be doing a lot more of if we’re to do anything about global warming. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-trash-policies-and-their-unintended-consequences/1023181/43 "2025-09-20T19:45:12Z")
We have weekly pickup of compost (food scraps, cat litter, etc.) in a city-provided wheelie bin. Garden waste, branches, etc. weekly except in winter (but they pick up Christmas trees for mulching a couple of times after Christmas). Regular garbage (up to 3 bins or other items), paper/cardboard (in a city-provided black bin), and glass/plastic/metal (in a city-provided blue bin) are collected on alternate weeks. There’s a list of items that can’t go in the garbage (hazardous waste, e-waste, etc.) but this can either be returned to the retailer or dropped off at special collection points set up every couple of months. Bulky items such as furniture will be picked up on regular garbage days, but you have to book the pickup ahead of time. All covered by municipal taxes as a public health cost, except for the special bags ($4.40) if you want to put out more than 3 items in the regular garbage. Businesses generally need to make their own arrangements, but agricultural waste is collected at no extra cost (there are a significant number of farms inside the city limits). Much of this is covered by provincial law. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-trash-policies-and-their-unintended-consequences/1023181/44 "2025-09-23T11:01:05Z")
Not a stupid trash policy - Stupid me. We just moved houses. I did not realize how much trash and recycling this generates. I put the bins in the wrong places (they’re big) Taking out the bins this morning, I see that we put all our recycling in the trash bin, and all our trash in the recycling bin. :sigh: I had to switch it all around. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-trash-policies-and-their-unintended-consequences/1023181/45 "2025-09-23T22:42:59Z")
I live outside the city limits, so I don’t have or contract for trash pickup. Because I live alone, I usually generate only one 40 lb dogfood bag full of trash every other week. I take it to a local “convenience center” which has a large compactor for trash, plus most types of recycling, all free. If I have food waste that will draw flies, I keep it in the fridge until I’m ready to go to the convenience center. Most food scraps get fed to the dogs. Stuff that might be green and moldy gets dumped out in the field out of reach of the horse. StG [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-trash-policies-and-their-unintended-consequences/1023181.md?page=2)