Cans, bottles, and glass: rinse, sort, and put out right
Drink containers are some of the easiest things to recycle in Japan, as long as you rinse and sort them the way your ward expects. Three quick habits cover almost everything.
Rinse first
Give every can, bottle, and jar a quick rinse so no drink or food is left inside. Dirty containers can spoil a whole batch and sometimes get rejected. A splash of water and a shake is plenty.
Keep the three streams apart
Aluminum and steel cans, glass bottles, and PET plastic bottles are usually collected as three separate categories, not one mixed bin. Set up three small spots at home so you are not sorting on collection morning.
Caps and labels
For PET bottles, twist off the cap and peel the label, since those count as plastic packaging, not PET. Glass and cans usually go out as they are. Some areas ask you to sort glass by color, so check.
Spray cans and gas canisters are not drink cans. They hold pressure and go with hazardous or dangerous trash, never the regular can bin.
When a container sits between categories, like a metal can with a plastic lid, Gomi Guide tells you exactly how your ward wants it split.
Sort the in-between ones A can with a plastic lid? Gomi Guide tells you exactly how your ward wants it split. Free on the App Store.