Expensive Deadwood

Have you ever heard of “Mottainai”? This is the Japanese word when people throw out things that can be usable. This common sense idea has developed in the country where the natural resources are limited. In 1997, the international convention was held in Kyoto, Japan which warned the world of an environmental crisis, and made us aware that we needed to prevent dangerous effect to our planet. After that, the Japanese government established recycling regulation countywide in accordance with this protocol. The regulation targeted to absorb Greenhouse Gas, like CO2. It made Japanese people much more conscious about daily waste. Our family realized that we had to change our way of life because we could no longer conceal garbage in our country or around the globe.

At the beginning, we started separating garbage for recycling which reduced burnable or concealable garbage. Every single household had to buy several designated garbage bags for separate categories. To sort them according to materials confused our family much more than we had expected. For example, there were both reusable and non-reusable materials in plastic. In addition, we had to crush cans and plastic bottles, and rinse every container in order to deduct recycle process and cost. In my home town, we placed the garbage bags in front of every house at night on the scheduled day. If we made mistake sorting or did not crush cans inside of the see-through bag, we found the bag left on the street the next morning.

Second, there was big change of domestic products in Japan. Besides the development of an incinerator, most Japanese manufacturers started to develop green conscious products. Most of them were designed to minimize using energy. For example, Japanese automobile manufacturers developed the first hybrid car that minimized using gasoline with its electrical engine system. Also, these cars can reduce exhaust gas which is a main factor of global warming. In addition, an electrical manufacturer developed a new washing machine that needed 20% water compared to earlier models. I did not want to use the water for washing my clothes due to feeling dirty. However, most the water conservation washing machine cleans the water in its system. Soon I realized how manufacturers made an effort so that consumer could economize on water by using it, and how much water we had wasted every day taking baths.

Finally, the new regulation affected our fashion and scene on the streets in Japan. All the public garbage bins were changed to categorized types everywhere. The bin was long, like a bench on the streets because there are five or six categories in one set. Fashion also changed, especially in business occasions because the government focused on electric consumption to cool offices by air conditioners. Most congressmen including the Prime Minister stopped wearing ties and jackets; then, they replaced their long sleeves with short sleeves in the summer. They named this new style “COOL BIZ”. Many retail shops started selling business casual clothes. On the streets in the summer, I began to find more white than the black and gray of the past. My father wore a black suite in the summer only for funerals.

Japanese people are still struggling to separate the three materials - the plastic cap, a bottle and its paper label of a bottle after drinking water. However, this bothersome law has forced us to buy our own canteens for drinks for good. In addition, it has changed our culture, not only our way of live. Japanese people always say every small action makes a difference, and these will help to save our planet. The new regulation soon became our family’s habit. When I came to the US, I felt uncomfortable throwing out garbage all together. In fact, recycling and reuse cost a lot of money. Sometimes, it is more expensive than manufacturing new products. However, we should manage the limited resource of the globe where we are living because our waste does not disappear even when we incinerate it.