Sounds simple, but it isn't in Japan due to the need to separate your rubbish between four bags and then put them out on different days. The table below acts as a guide as different prefectures have different procedures. The day of collection varies from locality to locality so you should check with your landlord for times of collection. Combustible waste is generally collected twice a week, incombustible waste twice a month (on the same weekday every two weeks) and large scale waste about three times a year in smaller towns and once a month in larger cities.

Some areas operate a system whereby you must call a number to have large scale waste collected. You will find details of where to leave your household waste from your landlord and posters near this collection area detail collection dates of different types of waste.

BIG RUBBISH DAY

One night of every month (varying from area to area), or 3 times a year in rural areas, people dump their large non-burnable trash (sodai gomi). Many people throw out perfectly usable electric appliances such as stereos and TV sets, chairs, bikes, shelf units, etc. The reason for people disposing of these perfectly good items is that they have little space to hold on to them and when they buy new items they just throw them away. New laws are preventing disposal of televisions and larger items in this manner but it is not unknown to find functional 25 inch widescreen televisions on the heap.

Check with your landlord as to when the sodai gomi day is and then scour the area, you will have competition though from other like minded Japanese people. It is perfectly acceptable to take these things from the heap but maybe it would be best to do so at night to avoid strange looks.

THE 'REUSE ANSHIN NET' SERVICE

The convenience store AM/PM offers a service called the "Reuse Anshin Net". They will send someone out to your house and pick up old appliances (refrigerators, washers, TVs, video decks, faxes, vacuums, air purifiers, audio components, etc.) for 100 yen each which is considerably cheaper than other stores. They will take air conditioners, but as there is a lot of dismantling to do, the fee is 11,000 yen.

Items should have been made in the last 5 years (check the sticker on the appliance or the instruction book), be "made in Japan", be usable, and should be restricted to the items listed above. The contact number for this service is 0120-609-117 and you will need to speak Japanese.