Turning one man’s trash into a community’s treasure trove

[unhappycamper]

Japanese contractors sort through trash to find recyclable materials that can be used again on Friday at Yokota Air Base, Japan.


Turning one man’s trash into a community’s treasure trove
By Allison Batdorff, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Tuesday, February 5, 2008

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Residents at Yokosuka Naval Base might not know they’re recycling, but they are, Roy Ito said.

Base residents might toss their bags into one garbage bin, but that bin turns into six after Japanese contractors open and sort the trash, said Ito, the manager of the base’s solid waste and recycling programs.

“Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening,” Ito said.

Right now, residents separate garbage into “burnable” and “nonburnable” bags, but eventually, residents will sort garbage into several more categories, like their off-base peers, he said.

But that won’t happen anytime soon, and it won’t happen all at once, Ito said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52194