I get the question nearly every time a pal visits me here: "Hey! I heard people in Japan put out brand-new TVs and stereos out with their trash! What day is that...?" I almost hate to dispel the visions of free Blu-ray players dancing in their heads.
In spite of what you may have read about garbage day in Japan ("How to Get Free Electronic Goods in Japan," BoingBoing, February 17th), the streets of Tokyo are not lined with mint-condition electronic gear ripe for the taking. The binge-and-purge cycle of constantly upgrading one's appliances is a relic of the "bubble era." It went out of style in the mid-90s, shortly after Japan went into recession. These days, people tend to make the most of what they have. Nobody dumps electronics on the street to impress the neighbors. Quite the opposite. They do it because they're too lazy and cheap to pay for it to get hauled away. Anything with actual value gets sold to a local recycling shop. The stuff left sitting on the curb is inevitably junk.
This being Japan, if you have a societal problem, you have super-kawaii signs reminding people not to do it. The pictures above, taken within walking distance of my home, represent just a tiny fraction of the "no dumping" signs posted throughout the country. It's a major problem here.
I did manage to get a free vacuum from the street recently. It works fine.
Otherwise, almost all my stuff came from kind foreigners.
Posted by: claytonian | February 19, 2009 at 02:08 PM
Trades and cast-offs are a great way to get stuff.
When I first lived in Japan in 1993, prior to the stricter bulk garbage laws, you'd still occasionally see the discarded stereo components and TVs. (A friend of a friend took it to the next level by getting a part time job at the bulk garbage plant, and outfitted his entire apartment with incredible finds.) But that era is long, long over.
Posted by: MattAlt | February 20, 2009 at 09:06 AM
It only makes sense that someone would recycle something that still had value. Just placing something on the streets, though it might be picked up, would be rather wasteful.
As for the kawaii signs, I really dig the one with the crows. If there was a huge picture/scan of that, that would so be my new desktop...
Posted by: John Ashline | February 22, 2009 at 04:20 AM
"Just placing something on the streets, though it might be picked up, would be rather wasteful."
Not to mention illegal! Big fine if anyone catches you doing it.
Posted by: MattAlt | February 22, 2009 at 10:22 AM
"Big fine if anyone catches you doing it."
Wow! How big?
Posted by: John Ashline | February 22, 2009 at 10:30 AM
It depends on the specific offense, amount, and location, but I believe the Tokyo metropolitan area threatens possible fines up to ten million yen (about $100,000) and up to five years imprisonment for single offenders.
Even higher fines (twenty to thirty million yen) are reserved for companies -- the dumping of construction waste is a huge problem in the countryside.
In spite of the neutral tone of the BoingBoing article, illegal dumping is a major issue in Japan, and there's no way to spin it in a positive light -- people who discard appliances on the side of the road because they "think it's a waste to have a fully functional appliance taken away" aren't pro-recycling, they're criminals.
Posted by: MattAlt | February 22, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Agreed. I am glad you posted this as a "correction" of sorts to the BoingBoing article! Good work! :)
Posted by: John Ashline | February 22, 2009 at 12:37 PM
i like the one of the electronics left in the cold wind!! heehee!
"さむい..."
Posted by: Enrique | February 26, 2009 at 02:01 AM