Why is there so little garbage in Matsuyama? Explore the national top-level secrets to reduce household waste

At the end of March every year, the Ministry of the Environment announces the annual amount of general waste, the cost of processing it and maintaining the processing plant, and the ranking of local governments that are working to reduce waste. (1). There are three population categories (less than 100,000, 100,000 to less than 500,000, and over 500,000). In each of the three categories, the top 10 with the least amount of waste generated per person per day will be announced.

Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, has been the top municipality for the past nine years in a row with a population of 500,000 or more. In the year they were trying to achieve their 10th consecutive year, they were unfortunately overtaken by Tokyo's Hachioji City, but they have regained the top spot even after that, and currently hold a close second place alongside Hachioji City ( 2). Why does Matsuyama City produce so little garbage?

Takuya Isshiki, Chief of the Planning Promotion Group, Recycling-Oriented Society Promotion Division, Environment Bureau, Citizens' Environment Department, Ehime Prefecture, listened to the keynote speech at the National Conference on Food Loss Reduction, which the author gave in December 2020. He came (held in Toyama Prefecture). At that time, I was asked to give a keynote speech at the food loss reduction symposium hosted by Ehime Prefecture in 2021, and I decided to give a keynote speech on October 30, 2021. I asked Mr. Isshiki to interview Mr. Hiroaki Amiya, deputy manager of the Eco-Model City Promotion Division, Environment Department, Matsuyama City, and Ms. Yuriko Nakamura, chief examiner.

There are no designated garbage bags, but public awareness is high

The majority of Japanese local governments have introduced a "garbage bag charge system" in some form. According to a survey of 1,367 local governments nationwide, 58.0% of the nation implemented a household waste charge (3). "Garbage fee" means that citizens are obliged to purchase garbage bags designated by the municipality when disposing of garbage. This is because data has proven that by charging for garbage bags, citizens who bear the cost of garbage bags will be more aware of "waste reduction," and the amount of waste in local governments will be reduced. However, Matsuyama City does not have designated garbage bags.

Ms. Yuriko Nakamura (hereafter titles omitted): Matsuyama City does not have designated garbage bags. Combustible garbage of 45 liters or less can be put out in plastic bags, and white bags can be purchased. Colorless and transparent bags are fine for plastic waste. I've heard that in other cities (in Ehime Prefecture) it costs several tens of yen per card.

-It's amazing that there are so few garbage bags even though they don't charge for garbage bags.

Mr. Hiroaki Amiya (honorific titles omitted): I think that the amount of garbage will probably decrease if we charge a fee. But we think that you should lose weight without imposing burden on citizen's everybody. It's the same with food waste, but I want to lose weight by eating up while having fun.

-When I gave a lecture in Kagawa Prefecture, I think it was just when Matsuyama City was overtaken by Hachioji City. He said, "People in Matsuyama are serious, so I'll definitely do it again (aiming for 1st place)." After that, you overtook Hachioji and became number one, right?

Amiya: I pulled it out. After being 2nd once, I became 1st (4) and now I'm 2nd.

- It's a close match, isn't it? Next is 10 years in a row! The homepage of Matsuyama City when Hachioji was overtaken just before that was impressive. Like "Number One Again". With a difference of two 1-yen coins (2g).

Amiya: Yes. It was a really small difference.

Takuya Isshiki (honorifics omitted below): (Hachioji City and Matsuyama City) must have been conscious of each other.

- That's amazing. Matsuyama and Hachioji are the only municipalities with a population of 500,000 or more nationwide that are in the 700g range (per person per day). Because the 3rd place and below are in the 800g range.

Amiya: In July 2018, it was difficult due to the heavy rain disaster.

- That's right. General waste including disaster waste...

Amiya: That's right, disaster waste is included as general waste. Even so, the awareness of the citizens is high, and they have put up banners at the city hall.

-I have the impression that Matsuyama City does a good job of enlightening its citizens. In one local government, it was written, "Let's make it 800-odd grams in the Heisei year," but from the citizen's point of view, they don't know what to do. “Let’s aim for 1st place” will increase your motivation.

All leftovers from school lunches and pruned branches are collected and composted

The Ministry of the Environment offers an open recruitment system to local governments nationwide in order to reduce food loss from school lunches ( 5,6,7). So far, many local governments and elementary schools have worked together to reduce food loss.

Matsuyama City composts all the residue from school lunches.

Also, in Europe, in addition to inedible parts such as coffee grounds and apple cores, fallen leaves and pruned branches are sorted and collected and used as resources under the term "organic". In Matsuyama City, pruned branches are also sorted and composted.

-The fact that the amount of waste is so low means that you are also focusing on recycling?

Amiya: Of course, all leftovers and leftovers from school lunches are recycled.

- Recycled into compost?

Amiya: Yes, compost.

- School lunches are also a source of concern for local governments.

Nakamura: Food waste such as cooking waste and leftovers is collected from each kitchen and then composted together with pruned branches at the Royal Eisen General Resource Recycling Center in the Hojo area, a short distance from Matsuyama city. (8).

- Do you compost the branches too?

Nakamura: Yes.

-Are you from school?

Nakamura: All pruned branches for businesses, including schools. There are also tree branches put out by citizens. The composted material is used by local farmers.

- So you're not only trying to reduce the amount of garbage, but you're also actively working on recycling.

Two-year waste reduction promotion committee raises awareness

The author lives in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture. 4th lowest. Since the Showa era, they have been enthusiastic about garbage separation, and have established a two-year term system called Clean Promotion Member System to enlighten citizens on garbage separation and how to dispose of it.

-Isn't there anyone like the Garbage Something Committee among the citizens?

Amiya: Matsuyama cleanup promoters (waste reduction promoters) and cooperators are active. term of two years (9).

-You said that Nagano Prefecture also has such a committee system, and that it is effective in reducing waste. When you are appointed, you learn various things such as how to separate garbage.

Amiya: That's right. Without the cooperation of regions such as neighborhood associations, waste reduction cannot be achieved.

Isshiki: The circular also warns people to be careful when disposing of garbage. The reason why there is so little garbage in Matsuyama is that everyone understands the importance of reducing and sorting garbage through education and awareness activities.

Nakamura: When I took a questionnaire about Matsuyama's "things I can be proud of", quite a few people wrote "less garbage". Some people wrote that they are making efforts to reduce the amount of garbage. People who have moved to Matsuyama say, "Matsuyama is very strict about separating garbage." If the sorting method is wrong, put a sticker saying "wrong" with the reason, leave it at the garbage collection point, and don't collect it. On the other hand, we are also doing a lot of briefing sessions on garbage separation (10).

Amiya: That's right. Currently, there are 8 types and 11 sorts, but until now, the cleaning section has been out in the community at times and lectures when the sorting method has changed.

The Importance of Enlightenment

Education and enlightenment are important for waste reduction. Even in Kyoto City, which has the lowest amount of household waste among ordinance-designated cities in Japan and the fifth lowest amount of waste per person per day among local governments with a population of over 500,000, Kyoto City has been working hard to educate citizens for many years. continuing.

Amiya: I also teach about the 3Rs. Fourth graders learn about garbage, so we distribute supplementary readers produced by the Cleaning Division to all elementary schools in Matsuyama City. It's been going on for about 10 years now. As much as possible, I want children to take garbage separation and waste reduction as a matter of course from an early age, and I want them to learn naturally through learning.

Amiya: We ask them to confirm what we can do, before shopping, during shopping, during cooking, and after meals. This is also something I'm putting effort into enlightening, but every Friday is a day to check the refrigerator. We encourage you to check the deadline. It's on Friday in conjunction with cleanup friday in ehime prefecture.

- So it's linked to the prefecture's efforts.

Amiya: Yes, just checking the food inventory at home has reduced food loss across the board. In a refrigerator check (11) conducted by citizen monitors during Food Loss Reduction Month in October last year (2020), the top foods thrown away at home were sweet potatoes, green onions, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and tomatoes, and most of them were vegetables. was. Many of the reasons for throwing them away were "loosing freshness", so I created a tool to raise awareness about how to preserve vegetables (18).

Simple consumer enlightenment is important

No matter how important education and enlightenment are, if the citizens who receive them are not motivated, they will not produce results. I wonder if the citizens of Matsuyama City are highly motivated, or if the enlightenment that the city is carrying out is properly linked to practice.

- It seems that some local governments are having a hard time because even if they do their best to raise awareness, the citizens won't do it at all. In the case of Matsuyama, is the original level high?

Amiya: I try not to jump into things that are too difficult. I don't want to talk about things that I can't continue every day, no matter how effective they are, so I'd like to as simple as possible, what I can do at home, what I can do from today, and give you some simple tips. I am practicing.

There is a group under the jurisdiction of the public health center that is engaged in dietary education and improving eating habits, and I thought that their power of dissemination was amazing. I think that it will be easier to penetrate within the range of each town. I think it would be much more persuasive for those people to say, ``You should do this,'' rather than us, the government, saying it directly. It may be important to have local communities such as groups and neighborhood associations.

Waste reduction can be achieved even in tourist cities

The day before the interview, when I was walking near Dogo Onsen, I met an elderly man who volunteered to show me around the city for free. He also asked him why he thought Matsuyama had less garbage. The person said, "I think it's because there are many pilgrims in the castle town."

-Dogo Onsen is also there, and Matsuyama is also a tourist city. Some municipalities with hot spring resorts have an order of magnitude more garbage than the surrounding municipalities. However, Kyoto City, which is also a tourist city, has created pamphlets for both tourists and foreigners (12).

Amiya: Kyoto and Yokohama are amazing. The Gion Festival also uses reusable tableware.

- Yes. Switch to reusable tableware. About 5 years ago.

Amiya: I don't think there is such a thing as "big cities and big cities." I also visit Kamikatsu (Kamikatsu Town, Tokushima Prefecture, 13). If Kyoto City is doing it, there is no excuse. I think it's the local government's motivation.

-When I interviewed a person at Kyoto City Hall, he also mentioned COP3 in 1997 (14). When I visited Totoya (age 15) in Kyoto in July, it happened to be garbage collection day. The designated yellow garbage bag, the garbage bag placed in front of the house, is extremely small. In Kyoto, there is also the “Shimano no Kokoro” ordinance.

Amiya: Totoya in Kyoto sells by weight. I thought that selling by weight was a matter of consciousness, and I thought that the louder the consumer's voice, the more the stores would respond. As with the 3010 (Sanmaru Ichimaru) movement, it will not come into effect unless consumers are aware of it. No matter how you look at it, it would be faster to enlighten consumers.

Isshiki: Right. If you engage in awareness-raising activities for households, even business restaurants will be conscious of ordering so that they do not leave food behind. This will reduce the amount of food loss in business. If consumer awareness changes, the mindset at the time of shopping will also change. I think it's effective because it comes. It is important not to set the hurdles too high, and to continue to make efforts so that everyone can feel free to give it a try.

Covering a box of oranges with newspaper will make them last longer

Matsuyama is said to grow 40 different citrus fruits. Mikan can get moldy when you buy them in a box.

-Ehime Prefecture also has a variety of citrus fruits, such as mandarin oranges and Iyokan.

One color: There are about 40 types (16). Ehime Prefecture is characterized by its mandarin oranges that can be eaten at any time of the year. The “Mikan Research Institute” is located in Yoshida-cho, Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture (17), where we conduct long-term research on varieties until we can produce one variety, so that we can supply them throughout the year.

Amiya: Placing a newspaper on top of the box of mandarin oranges regulates the temperature, so just putting the newspaper on top of it makes a difference (18).

- Do you mean cover it with newspaper?

Amiya: Yes. There are people who take everything out of the box first and put the bottom down, or spread newspaper underneath and make it about three layers so that it doesn't stack too much. It is said that just opening it and placing a newspaper on it will make a difference.

Finishing the interview

Why is there so little trash in Matsuyama? The story we heard this time can be summarized as follows.

*Municipal Motivation and Citizens' Pride

* Steady enlightenment and education from an early age

*Two-year term cleanup promoter educates citizens

*Cooperation with neighborhood associations and dieticians

* Call for food inventory check before weekend shopping

*Vegetable storage tools and easy-to-follow recipes

* Composting leftovers from school lunches instead of burning them

*Compost pruned branches without burning them

It goes without saying that concrete reduction measures are necessary, but I felt that the motivation of local governments and the pride of citizens are very important. It is because they lead to practice.

The people of Matsuyama City are humble, but they are making steady efforts, and that has led to solid results.

On December 18, 2021, an exhibition of Japan's first mobile recycling car (a car that eats garbage) will be held in Matsuyama city.

I would like local governments across the country to use Matsuyama as a role model to reduce food loss and eventually reduce garbage.

Reference Information

1) General waste discharge and treatment status (FY2019) (Ministry of the Environment, March 30, 2021)

2) Regarding the results of the survey on the general waste disposal business (2019) (Ministry of the Environment, March 30, 2021)

3) Nationwide municipality survey on household waste charging (G-Place, 2021/7/7)

4) Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture is No. 1 in Japan! Japan's lowest amount of garbage per person per day Returning from last year after failing to achieve first place for 10 consecutive years (Rumi Ide, Yahoo! News Individual, April 4, 2018)

5) Ministry of the Environment FY 2017 Report on 3R promotion model project for waste generated from school lunch implementation "Food loss and children's education" (Rumi Ide, Yahoo! News Individual, 2018/2/26)

6) “Even if you raise the feeling of wastefulness, the amount of leftovers will not decrease” The secret to eating foods that children are not good at school lunches without difficulty (Rumi Ide, Yahoo! News individual, March 19, 2019)

7) The fact that 90% of people say, "Even if I'm sick, I try my best to eat school lunches and eat them all," doesn't this represent the way adults work while destroying their mental and physical health? (Rumi Ide, Yahoo! News Individual, 2019/ 3/20)

8) Royal Eisen General Resource Recycling Center "The only one in Matsuyama that recycles garbage and wood waste into compost."

9) Waste reduction promotion member (Matsuyama cleanup promotion member)

10) Matsuyama City Official Website Garbage and Recycling

11) We are looking for people who can cooperate with the "refrigerator check! Monitor survey" to reduce food loss (Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, 2020/9/2)

12) Nearly halved in 16 years Why is Kyoto City's 530 (Zero Waste) measure so amazing? (Rumi Ide, Yahoo! News Individual, May 30, 2017)

13) Zero-waste craft beer that uses citrus peels and non-standard Naruto Kintoki RISE & WIN in Kamikatsu-cho, Tokushima Prefecture (Rumi Ide, Yahoo! News individual, March 16, 2020)

14) "Lies about expiration dates: why food loss is born" (Rumi Ide, Gentosha Shinsho)

15) Japan's first! What is the ingenuity of Kyoto's supermarket "Totoya" that does not produce garbage or food loss and the cutting-edge sales system? (Rumi Ide, Yahoo! News individual, August 24, 2021)

16) "Citrus Kingdom / Ehime" is not only mandarin oranges! Enjoy citrus fruits all year round in Matsuyama (Matsuyama City Official Tourism Website, 2019/10/1)

17) Ehime Prefecture Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Institute Fruit Tree Research Center Mandarin Research Institute

18) Matsuyama City Let's reduce "food loss"! Tips for food storage