January 30, 2012

1 Min Read
Photo by Takuya Matsumoto courtesy of Earth911
Photo by Takuya Matsumoto, courtesy of Earth911

Photo by Takuya Matsumoto, courtesy of Earth911.Photo by Takuya Matsumoto, courtesy of Earth911.

We've reported on Japan's hyper ambitious recycling before. Be it electronics or bras, the Japanese are serious about making sure everything that is used gets reused. It's understandable for an island nation with limited resources but an active consumer base. Perhaps this explains the extreme recycling going on in Kamikatsu, Japan, as reported by Earth911. There residents must navigate not two, not three, but a staggering 34 separate material bins as the village pursues its goal of zero waste by 2020. It may not surprise you to learn that they've already surpassed a 90 percent diversion rate. Click through to read about all of ways in which Kamikatu residents are compelled to separate their waste.

In fairness, we have more bins in the United States than you may realize...They're just not all in one place. Every time you take printer cartridges, rechargeable batteries, compact fluorescent lightbulbs, etc. to a retailer for recycling, or drop off an old TV at an e-waste recycling event, or take unwanted clothes to Goodwill, add those bins to the ones you set out on the curb.

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