Garbage collection in Akita City
Garbage collection in Akita City is slightly different from the rest of the prefecture. Like other municipalities, Akita City will only collect garbage put into city-issued bags that can be bought at any supermarket or convenience store. (shown on the right). Collection dates differ depending on where you live. The Akita City website has a garbage collection date calendar for each neighborhood in the city. This calendar can tell you when to place each type of waste at your designated collection point.
Types of garbage
In Akita City, garbage is separated into 3 general categories: Household waste, Recyclables, and Bulky waste.
Household waste
Household waste is any garbage that is under 50 cm in any direction and cannot be recycled or reused. This type of waste needs to be put in the yellow semi-transparent city-issued bags (marked with black text). Some examples of household waste include:
- Food scraps
- Cooking oil (which needs to be soaked up in paper towels before being disposed of)
- Products made from rubber
- Toys
- Broken glass bottles
- Light bulbs
- Clothes
- Plastic goods
Because Akita City's incineration facilities are equipped with a state-of the-art melting furnace, you do not need to separate household waste into burnables and nonburnable. Once all of the waste is incinerated, the residue is separated into metals and slag. The metal scraps are then sent north to a pyro-smelting facility in Kosaka where various metals such as copper and silver are extracted from the waste.
Recyclables
Recyclables are waste that can still have useful materials extracted from them, or that can be reused. All recyclables need to be put into the translucent bags (marked with green text) issued by the city. Each category of waste needs to be put into its own separate bag. Even if a material falls into one of these categories, if it is over 50cm, it must be discarded as bulky waste. Recyclables are:
- Metals-pots, pans, small electronic appliances, etc. (Knives must be wrapped in newspaper and marked キケン)
- PET bottles-any bottle with the PET marking on it. Bottles should be washed, and the caps should be discarded as household waste
- Cans and batteries-Cans should be washed, and the caps should be discarded as household waste.
- Glass bottles and aerosol cans- Bottles should be washed, and the caps should be discarded as household waste.
- Paper-newspapers, cardboard, and magazines should be separated and bundled with string to be collected. Photographs and cellophane should be discarded as household waste
Bulky waste
Bulky waste is generally considered any waste that is longer than 50cm in any dimension. Examples include:
- Bicycles
- Furniture
- Futons
- Kerosene stoves (even if they are under 50cm)
- Air purifiers/humidifiers (even if they are under 50cm)
These types of waste are collected by the city after a reservation is made, and a disposal fee is paid by the consumer. The fee depends on the dimensions and weight of the waste in question.
To make a reservation, call the Akita City Bulky Waste Hotline at: ☎ 018-839-2002 (Mon~Fri 9:00~16:00)
As of 2023, an online application for bulky waste is available as well: https://www.city.akita.lg.jp/kurashi/recycle/1006080/index.html
Other waste
Although the method of waste collection is left to each municipality, Japanese laws dictate that certain types of waste must be collected in a specified manner regardless of location. Collection procedures are as follows:
One time-excessive waste
If you are moving or cleaning and end up with an excessively large amount of waste, you will need to contact the Akita City Comprehensive Environmental Center (秋田市総合環境センター) or a specialized waste disposal company and pay them to pick up your waste. You must call them before you actually put out the waste to be collected.
- Information about garbage disposal companies: ☎ 018-866-2943
- Akita Comprehensive Environmental Center: ☎ 018-839-4816
Household appliances
Household appliances are handled separately under Japanese law. The consumer needs to pay 2500-3500 yen to have their appliance disposed of, depending on the appliance. Normally a consumer buys a new appliance, the store will sell them a disposal tag for the old appliance, and then go to the consumers house to install the new appliance after collecting the old one. The four appliances that need special tags to be collected are:
- Televisions
- Air conditioners
- Laundry machines
- Refrigerators
If you have questions, you can contact the Appliance Recycling Center: ☎ 0120-537-915
Waste containing mercury
Mercury is a fairly toxic chemical, and must be handled seperately from other forms of waste. Common items containing heavy amounts of mercury include (mercury-based) thermometers and fluorescent light bulbs. Put these items back into their original packaging (if you have it), or wrap the pieces up in paper to avoid breakage. Then, put these items in an unmarked translucent plastic bag and put them near other recyclables like bottles at your home's garbage collection area.
Computers
Computers are disposed of by their manufacturers in Japan. When you want to get rid of you computer, contact it's maker.
Symbols
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Paper (紙) |
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Plastic (プラ) |
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Aluminium (アルミ) |
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Steel (スチール) |
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PET bottles |
