Japanese towns are famous for being clean, with no trash on the streets. When I traveled abroad, I often saw cigarette butts, plastic bottles, and glass bottles lying on the road. There were trash cans on the streets, but they did not seem to serve a purpose.

When thinking about environmental problems, people tend to focus on large-scale issues such as air pollution and global warming. However, I think we should start by doing what we can ourselves. Therefore, first, making the town where I live clean is a solution to environmental problems. Because even if we think about large-scale problems, nothing will change unless the government thinks about them and changes laws and such. First, the environmental solution I can do is to reduce trash.

In 2020, Japan’s PET bottle recycling rate was 88.5%, and the collection rate was 96.7%. (Source: PET Bottle Recycling Promotion Council) Some people might be surprised by these high numbers. However, the remaining few percent are littered. They become trash in rivers, oceans, and mountains. Japan’s PET bottle consumption is about 22.7 billion bottles per year. Calculating that means about 700 million bottles are littered. It is a hard-to-believe reality. Therefore, I always carry a water bottle filled with water when I go out. It is a very simple thing.

What is the trash problem in your country? Are there any improvements or efforts being made for that? Please tell me!