We've heard many stories of individuals across the world who've adopted a zero-waste lifestyle, but it's not often that we come across an entire community trying to become waste-free. The residents(居民) of Kamikatsu in Japan take recycling so seriously that they actually hope to become the nation's first zero-waste community by 2020.
Kamikatsu has no garbage trucks, so residents need to compost(制成堆肥) their kitchen trash at home. They also have to wash and sort the rest of their trash into 34 different kinds, and bring it to the recycling center themselves where workers make sure the waste goes into the correct bins. It obviously took some time for the residents to get used to this rule, but they eventually managed to adapt to the strict changes and they are now seeing them as normal.
Kamikatsu has turned recycling into a new process—there are separate bins for different types of paper products. Even plastic bottles and their caps go into different bins. Many of these items are resold or repurposed(赋子新的用途) into clothing and toys. The labels on each bin let the residents know exactly what happens to their trash.
Reuse is highly encouraged in Kamikatsu—they have local kuru-kuru shops where residents can exchange used items with new things at no extra cost. Businesses are also encouraged to participate in responsible waste management.
A Kamikatsu resident said, “It can be a pain, and at first we were opposed to the idea. Now I don't think about it. It's become natural to separate the trash correctly.”
All the recycling facilities in Kamikatsu are managed by a Zero Waste Academy which also regularly hosts groups of local schoolchildren and foreign visitors, educating them on the benefits of a zero-waste lifestyle.
