Rebecca Manzi In Kamikatsu, everything revolves around the goal of becoming a zero-waste municipality with citizens separating garbage into 45 different categories.
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Nestled in the mountains of Shikoku, the Japanese village of Kamikatsu has become particularly notable for its pledge to live a zero-waste lifestyle. With a population of approximately 1,500 people, the village has devised an individualistic method of managing its waste: this relies on residents sorting trash into 45 different categories.
Complex it may be, but the practice has now become a part of life, and the ultimate aim is to recycle everything without sending anything to incinerators. The project began in 2003 when Kamikatsu declared its ambition to become Japan’s first zero-waste municipality.
The push toward this goal accelerated after one of the local incinerators was shut down in 2000 for failing to meet environmental standards. Since then, the village has transformed its waste practices, shifting its focus to recycling and reusing materials.
How waste sorting works
This has a set of categories, which includes pillows, toothbrushes, glass kinds, and metals. Every family cleans and prepares its garbage through the use of a collection facility and a well-informative guide on what goes in. The people in this area did not treat this as an annoyance but a chance to commit with great passion and dedication, mindful of its great contribution to saving the planet Earth.
Beyond recycling, Kamikatsu helps their residents practice sustainability in many other facets of everyday life. It has a Zero Waste Center where every material is sorted and compressed for recycling. The citizens also wash and dry bags, packaging, and containers to make it easy for the material to be recycled.
Many items are also taken apart to recover the good ones and grade them, while others are given free in an exchange store from people who no longer need them. Other activities, like Rise and Win Brewing Co., a craft brewery, utilize local resources in their production in a very sustainable manner.
beyond waste management-a way of living
Kamikatsu’s ambitions are not limited to how to deal with waste. For example, the Why Hotel promotes sustainable tourism: decorations are made from recycled materials, and bedspreads are sewn from scraps of denim. At Café Polestar, a reduced menu limits food waste, while shared vehicles promote sustainable mobility.
With a shrinking population and a high number of elderly residents, Kamikatsu reached an 80% recycling rate in 2017, compared with the national average. This small village represents how even tiny communities can go a long way toward environmental sustainability and perhaps teach larger urban settings a thing or two.
