At this point I would like to mention Internet auctions, which have become increasingly popular. One of the best-known is eBay which, in addition to operating auction-style sales has also expanded to include “Buy It Now” shopping. There are also more specialized sites that might be of interest. You can search for them online, and once you access them you’ll find a summary of their services and how to use them.
If somebody wants something that you want to get rid of, an Internet auction may allow you to find that person. It is a very good solution for people whose sense of waste won’t let them throw things away.
If this kind of recycling becomes part of our society’s system, it will mean that things can circulate. This circulation will prevent things accumulating in people’s homes, so that there will be less stuff in society as a whole.
FEELING GOOD ABOUT THROWING THINGS AWAY
If we end up choosing to throw something away, we all know that we have to assign it to a particular class of trash. Local authorities provide different bins for different items, but these don’t cover all everyday items.
Recycling items are often easy to classify—plastic bottles, glass jars, cans, newspapers, etc. But not everything is easily categorized. Of course, local authorities will deal with matters in different ways and the management will vary according to where you live. It is important that individuals are well informed as to the local rules and that they follow them. One urgent task is to reduce overall volumes of trash through effective collection of recyclables. In terms of the handling of different categories of non-recyclable trash, the greatest problems relate to waste-plant capacity and collection systems.
THE RECYCLING TRAP
Finally, I want to talk briefly about the dangers of wanting to pass things on for reuse or recycling.
At worst, the desire to see things reused can lead to the simplistic thought that someone will use it eventually… This way of thinking allows people to buy things that are unnecessary in the belief that there’s no waste—if they don’t want it, someone else will. This leads to a vicious cycle of purchase and disposal: things accumulate, you pass them on, then more things accumulate. And what you believe to be a waste-free method of disposal often ends up with somebody else simply throwing things away on your behalf.
The media has highlighted many examples of recycling systems failing to cope with the resources collected. Also widely reported in Japan are the problems of relief organizations being inundated with unwearable clothes, torn futons, tatty old blankets, and more in the name of “charity.” This problem is not now as great as it once was, but it has not gone away.
It seems to me that the recycling that individuals can achieve and the development of a societal system of recycling are two different things. A book called To live an environmentally friendly life we must not recycle by Kunihiko Takeda examines the burden that recycling of things like paper and plastic bottles places on the environment. I do not entirely agree with the author in every aspect, but I do subscribe to the idea that individuals cannot build environments on their own, that recycling can be very inefficient and that burning of waste may often be a better option.
But I shall leave to the experts all questions of whether we should have a “recycling society” and how it might be achieved. What I want to emphasize for now is the message: “start by disposing of things.” This is because, as I have pointed out already, the difference between disposing as trash and disposing for reuse is little more than emotion.
The first thing each of us should do is dispose of the piles of things that surround us. This will help change the way we live. And perhaps that could lead to changes in the way businesses and the rest of the country function.
Afterword
I have worked in marketing since the late 1980s. The purpose of marketing is to support companies’ product development and advertising activities by probing consumer mentality and behavior. In other words, I’ve been involved with techniques for making people buy stuff.
The late 1980s was the peak phase of Japan’s bubble economy. The distribution industry was growing fast and manufacturers were working hard to develop new products. As the country entered the recession of the 1990s I heard first-hand from manufacturers about their wish to find hidden demand, from companies that saw opportunities in environment-related business.
At a time when companies were frantically trying to make us buy, had we stopped buying? I think the desire to buy was still there. But there were certainly fewer things that everybody wanted. It was no longer a question of everybody wanting the same thing. People already had basic consumer goods. Demand was now more individual. I think this marked a shift in the relationship between “things” and “self.”
Modern housing, furniture, and appliances have made our lives easier than in the past. But how many people are living in homes where they can relax and be themselves? Homes are crowded out with things. People can’t find space for themselves. They want to find new ways of making their homes more pleasant to live in.
This book did not develop on the basis of a specific plan. Rather, I would say it has grown from my struggle to understand our relationship with things. I have tried to propose attitudes and strategies for the Art of Discarding based on my own experience and research, rather than on any clearly established social phenomena or statistics.
I have worked with the book’s editor, Kayano Nemura, on various projects over many years. Once I told Kayano my ideas for this book, it did not take long for it to take shape. Things can proceed remarkably smoothly when one is working with a kindred spirit, and the publication process was a very happy experience. I am very grateful to the publisher, Takarajimasha, for publishing this book and for the speed of their decision to do so.
About the Author
Nagisa Tatsumi was born in 1965. After graduating from Ochanomizu University, she worked as a journalist and editor before going freelance. Her writing focuses on Japanese lifestyle and culture, and her no nonsense style has earned her a devoted readership. In 2008 she set up Kaji Juku, a training school for homemakers in Tokyo. Since 2016 Tatsumi has been the Director of the Lifestyle Philosophy Institute. She has written several books, many of which have been translated.
About the Translator
Angus Turvill is an award-winning translator. His publications include Tales from a Mountain Cave by Hisashi Inoue (set in the tsunami-affected region of Japan) and Heaven’s Wind, an anthology of fiction by contemporary Japanese women writers.
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