Japan has realized that important infrastructure is missing to handle mass tourism: public trash cans

Japan is fully committed to tourism, but this leads to a problem: trash that needs to go somewhere. However, until now, this East Asian country has done without public trash cans.

Japan is considered one of the cleanest countries in the world, but now it has a problem: mass tourism that not only brings money into the country but also trash. And this trash has to go somewhere.

And this creates a very specific problem related to Japanese culture: in this Asian country, there are no public trash cans.

Japan lacks public trash cans for the many tourists

Why are there no public trash cans in Japan? In Japan, there is the attitude that people prefer to take their trash home with them rather than distribute it in trash cans. When someone buys something on the go, they immediately think about what to do with the packaging. Therefore, public trash cans have been unnecessary in Japan so far, reports the magazine LiveJapan.com.

What is the problem now? But this becomes a problem with thousands of tourists who need exactly that in their daily lives: public trash cans to get rid of packaging or other waste. And this is an annoyance that many tourists feel confronted with. The English-speaking CNN reports that travelers have to carry their trash around all the time and quote someone as saying:

Some 7-Eleven, Family Mart, or Lawson branches didn’t even have trash cans, so you have to carry these dirty wrappers or bottles around all day until you’re back at your hotel. It’s great that the streets are clean, but it’s annoying to have to carry trash around all day long.

Meanwhile, authorities have distributed public trash cans at particularly busy locations, but the basic idea of cleanliness has not fundamentally changed in Japan. The problem has been recognized, but not yet addressed. And until that changes, tourists will continue to have to carry their trash around.

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