Photo/Illutration Workers try to move a garbage truck stuck in heavy snow on Feb. 8 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. (Kaede Sano)

Day in and day out, people in the trash collection business wrestle with the extraordinarily complex task of figuring out the "right formula" for recyclable and non-recyclable trash pickup.

They look at the calendar to estimate the trash volume, choose the vehicles for pickup, check roadwork schedules and weather forecasts--in short, they have to think of everything in advance.

"Surprisingly, it requires tremendous brainwork," noted Seiichiro Fujii, 51, an associate professor at Daito Bunka University. "If anything is overlooked, the pickup will be delayed and inconvenience many households and businesses."

Fujii has ridden on garbage trucks in Tokyo many times to research the actual work of trash collection. He published a book last year, titled "Gomi Shushu to Machizukuri" (Trash collection and community-building). 

Collectors seem to toss bags of garbage casually onto the truck, but appearances are deceiving.

They are fully aware that the truck will fill up quickly unless they judge the size and content of each bag correctly and load it in such a way that there will be no wasted space.

"It takes about 10 solid years of experience to be able to throw the bags rapidly without wasting any space on the truck," Fujii noted.

I recall how the volume of garbage suddenly grew everywhere when COVID-19 cases started surging in 2020.

Cluster infections occurred among trash collectors and pickup had to be suspended due to staff shortages. In my neighborhood, too, there were many days when the trash that was taken out early in the morning didn't get picked up until late in the afternoon.

Heavy snow also hinders trash collection. In Sapporo, where record snowfalls are continuing, some trucks couldn't even get to the collection sites this week and large volumes of trash remained untouched for a full day.

In some communities, residents were asked to refrain from taking their trash out for collection.

Since trash cans are a familiar site, we rarely pay attention to them. But if collection falls behind schedule, our daily lives will be immediately affected.

Be it for burnable or non-burnable or recyclable trash, the public pickup service is something we become deeply appreciative of when it falls behind schedule.

 --The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 9

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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