On Air: Fukuoka City Information/2011.12.12(Mon)/19:50～

                       Illegal Trash Dumping Prevention Month

December is “Illegal Trash Dumping Prevention Month.” It is held in an effort to eliminate the illegal dumping and/or disposal of waste. “Illegal trash disposal” occurs when household garbage, oversized-garbage, or industrial waste is dumped on mountainsides, in forests, along the shorelines or river banks or railroad tracks, or in parks. Illegal dumping doesn’t only ruin the view of the landscape, but also damages the environment. If caught by the police, offenders are punished under law. Nevertheless, new cases of illegal dumping, of all different sorts of items, continue to appear, and the fact of the matter is that illegal garbage disposal continues to be a problem. 

The city of Fukuoka has posted signs to warn people against dumping in prohibited areas and has also installed cameras to monitor areas experiencing a high frequency of illegal dumping activity. Daily and nightly patrols seeking to find and prevent illegal dumping are also in effect. These types of efforts are being stepped up this December, as it is time for yearly cleaning (or Japanese “O-Soji”) and the amount of refuse disposed of increases drastically. 

Televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and other household items should be disposed of in accordance with the city’s guidelines for disposal of home electronics. If you are not able to have old electronics taken up for disposal by the store at which you are buying a replacement model, or cannot bring them to the retail store from which you purchased them for proper disposal, please ask Best Denki Customer Support Fukuoka for assistance.

You can contact them by phone at 092-651-9161.

When disposing of other items, such as beds or tables, please use the Over-sized Garbage Disposal Call Center (In Japanese, that’s Sodai Gomi Uketsuke Sentah). When using this service, it is necessary to call and make an appointment for disposal in advance.

You can call them at 092-731-1153.

When you call them, you will be quoted a fee for the disposal of your property, and you will then have to purchase a “Disposal Ticket” (or “Sodai Gomi Shori-ken” in Japanese) at a convenience store or other such processing location for the amount you were quoted by the center. You should affix this ticket to the items which you wish to have disposed, and place them out for pick up at the designated time and place.

The year end sees a tremendous amount of refuse thrown away.

Please be responsible and follow the rules for proper garbage disposal.

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