Where I'm from in Japan, this is how we recycle.

Okay, let me stop Aiko right there.

What she doesn't know is that this is her first lesson on the path to become a...

...in Japan! It's actually a requirement of residency.

And it all starts... with a guide!

Let's get the recycling guide.

Yes.

Haha!

I got it.

In this calendar, it shows all the tips and how you can recycle.

So as mentioned, the program gives you a calendar recycling guide that's every student's go-to cheat sheet.

Waste management in its basic form is divided into four main categories:

"Pura" (プラ) which means plastics.

Then recyclables, which has everything from glass bottles to tin cans to plastic PET bottles.

Combustible waste which is everything that CAN be burned.

And incombustible waste, which is everything that CAN'T be burned.

Within each category, you're given examples of the types of goods that can be found within each one.

If you look at packaging on items you purchase, they'll indicate how items can be recycled.

So, what I'll start Aiko off with today is what to do with a drink bottle once you've finished drinking it.

But first, she has to drink it.

And this is "Calpis" and... I can drink it, Daddy?

You can drink some.

Yaaay.

But why did we get it, though?

So we can recycle it.

Okay, drink some and then we'll recycle.

Sour! Oh, wait. Not sour.

So like cola...?

Fizzy.

Fizzy, fizzy! Yeah!

Aiko's done drinking, and now she needs to wash and take apart the bottle.

This is how I like to do it.

Okay, so the bottle is "PET" and the cap is "pura" (plastic).

And then what about the wrapper?

The wrapper is plastic, too.

You mean "pura."

Yeah. And then there's a thing here that says "koko kara hagasemasu,"

and that means you can take it off from here.

I can't take it very good.

You're dry now. I don't need you.

At our home, we have several areas where we collect recyclables.

It's in a somewhat organized system.

However, we haven't done some types of recycling for a month or two, so we have lots of stuff to go through.

So in this next step in the "Waste Management Program,"

Aiko will go to all our home's collection points and gather our recyclables.

Where's all the recyclables go?

In here.

Okay, well let's get them.

Pull it out.

I know it's a big mess 'cause we haven't done it in two weeks.

We kind of missed a week.

It doesn't come out.

Just pull it!

Come on!

Go! There ya go.

Oh no...

Okay, just... yeah, yeah.

And we made a mess...

That's good. Now put that in the living room.

Oh.

Yep, let's go.

We have pink knives now?!

(laughs) Yeah, we do.

Well, I like the black knives better.

Okay. Next round! Let's get more!

We need to get all--

Are we gonna go like this?

No...

Oh. I thought everyone did that...

Fine, you just did it.

Ah, I don't like this. I don't like this! It's dirty!!

It's... It's... not that dirty. They're all washed out.

So go and get them off of there.

I don't like this. They're sticky.

Sticky, sticky...

You have to have paper--oh, there you go!

(laughter)

Paper...

Here...

This is just an old paper.

No! It's not garbage paper! It's recycle paper!

What?!

Okay?

But we're not done yet, Aiko!

What?

There's more!

Okay, in the cupboard behind you, we got more stuff.

What?!

It's true.

Too much garbage...

Yeah, all the paper we--

(laughter)

Those are boxes. Let's do 'em.

And all this stuff.

And this?

Yup.

Come on.

This?

Yup. Come on...

Yes, yes. That too. Come on. Everything.

Pizza!

Oh, garbage, how?!

Don't throw that.

Well, I wanna use some of these jars...

Okay, well maybe we'll keep some of those.

Reusing is a good point, Aiko!

But you're getting ahead of yourself.

We still need to collect more.

More!!

But Aiko, that's not it. We have more.

Why...?

Okay, come this way.

How many cupboards do we have?!

Just bring that.

(groans)

We have so much plastic that one side of our garbage can is for burnable garbage,

but the other side is for "pura," which is the Japanese name for "plastic."

Okay. And one more.

One more...

Okay, so get the paper now.

Okay, let's go.

I like mushing it!

Now that Aiko has collected all the recyclables into the sorting area,

she must now divide them into the four main categories, and then the sub-categories beneath!

Just because paper falls under recyclables, it can't be thrown in willy-nilly with tin cans,

or even other paper-based products.

We have this mess, and we're gonna use our guide to sort it out.

Okay...

It's kinda stinky... bwuh!

Okay, you're taking too long. I'm gonna help.

The task of sorting is done. Congratulations!

But now packaging must take place.

For example, milk cartons need to be cut up.

So we got everything in a pile.

And now we gotta organize it...

Yes...

So one thing you need to do is these milk cartons... they can't be like that.

That there, Aiko? That's what you need to cut your box like.

Yeah...

So I guess you just...

What...?

Oh, I did it wrong, I think.

Okay, so this is how you do it.

I don't know about this part...

Got it in the back...

That was kind of good enough.

See this?

Not perfect.

Okay, let me try another one.

That looks like it!

Yeah, it does...

And a present!

Okay.

Present!

This can be the Christmas present!

No, it's not...

Next we've got these plastic bottles.

And next...

Some things you can put in plastic bags, but with paper the default for some reason...

...is to either bundle it up with string, or to shove it into gift bags.

Which there is no shortage of in Japan.

So put all this paper in that paper bag.

Put it in that?

Yeah, yeah. Put that into this.

Yeah, yeah.

No, that's heavy--No, come on!

You're horrible at this!

There you go.

Here.

So all you have to do is do this...

Okay!

So what you do is try to put the boxes inside the boxes.

You have strong arms!

Okay!

You forgot the Christmas present that we made!

For bad kids.

(laughter)

So what's the end result of all our efforts?

Aiko will show you.

Oh, wait. She won't.

I wanna film it!

You wanna film me?

Yeah.

Okay, hold it...

I like doing this stuff...

So this is PET bottles.

Ow!

(laughter)

This is cardboard.

These are glass.

This is tetra pack.

These are batteries which we can't recycle normally. We'll have to do them special recycle day around.

That is aluminum cans.

You'll notice "horoyoi," my favorite.

This is "pura."

More "pura" plastic.

These are tin cans.

This is just kind of regular paper.

We've separated everything into these different--

This category, this category... and the batteries kind of go into this category, I believe.

Or maybe even a special...

It probably doesn't even fall into this category, honestly.

So that is recycling.

Yeah.

Oh, what? You think that's it?

That you're done learning? Hahahaha!

(coughing)

Where waste management gets complicated is that not everything fits neatly into those four main categories.

There are several pages in the cheat sheet devoted to all the specialty items.

Whether they be large furniture, electronics, scooters, bikes or batteries.

Any regular, burnable garbage that can't fit in a 50 liter garbage bag needs a special sticker on it

which you pay extra for and gets picked up separately.

Throughout a typical city block, you'll find several collection points that are shared by many households.

You can clearly see that every group has their own way of doing things.

Obviously, many citizens are still in training.

As with any training program, you do it with the hopes of turning your knowledge into sweet, sweet cash.

(coins clatter)

People learn to do it in different ways.

There's the crushers, donators, scavengers and crew.

Shin is a crusher.

And you put it in here...

He likes going to our local grocery store.

It gives him the pleasure of demolishing PET bottles in exchange for 2 Yen per crush.

While we can get paid for our PET bottles, we're not offered the same for our aluminium cans.

Luckily, our school knows some people that can, and we donate our cans to them.

You'll also see scavengers, riding around on their bikes, collecting stuff like aluminum cans and paper.

Once the scavengers have gone through the recyclables, the city crew comes by and picks everything up.

They don't grab everything up at once, though, as there are special crews for each type of good.

Paper products will be picked up on one truck; plastic bottles on another; and so on.

We were lucky enough to cross paths with a paper recycling crew one day!

Oddly enough, one of the guys was named Justin Bieber.

I'm Justin!

I'm Justin Bieber!

[Japanese:] Ah, that's not true!

It's nice to see people enjoy their job.

I'm Justin!

[Japanese:] Are you memorizing something?

Okay!

After they finish collecting the recyclables, they go to a paper recycling plant that looks like this!

[Japanese:] Softly!

So we've talked about recycling, but something else you can do with your recyclables is to reuse them!

And in Japan, we've seen items reused for various purposes.

For example, we often see PET bottles that are filled up with water and left around homes.

Aiko thinks they're used for drinking water in the case of an earthquake,

while I've heard that they're used to scare away stray cats.

I don't know why you'd want to protect a telephone pole or this piece of cement from cats...

...but I could see the point if you're talking about flowers.

Another item that I often see reused is Styrofoam containers.

Apparently, they're a decent substitute for planters.

In our house, we collect newspaper from the grandparents.

(All the news we get is digital!)

So that we have something to go under Aiko and Shin's "shuuji" papers, which is calligraphy.