Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd, and I was inspired by this video I saw on The Kid Should See This about a small town in rural Japan well on its way to becoming a zero waste community. This means that they will produce no trash. To this end, they sort their trash into 34 recycling categories. I know that my family and I have trouble with just one recycling category!
The small town of Kamikatsu, Japan started in 2003 to become a zero waste community by rigorously composting, reusing, and recycling their trash. In 2015, only 20% of their garbage goes into their local landfill. By 2020, Kamikatsu hopes to be 100% zero waste, with no use of landfills, and to forge connections with other like-minded communities in the world, spreading the practice of zero-waste.
Isn’t that amazing? Here’s their story:
I have other posts for Earth Day including an essay writing contest where kids can win $5000 and my Top 10 Earth Day Picture Book list. How are you celebrating Earth Day? Please share!
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Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
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Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
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Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Wow–this is wonderful & very inspiring, Mia! Thank you for sharing!!
Hi Maria,
I shudder to think of sorting my garbage into 34 categories as we struggle with just two categories but it’s an inspiration and probably what my town should be moving towards!
I really enjoyed reading your zero-waste communities for Earth Day. It’s good to know this is spreading. I reviewed a middle grade book for next Monday, and I heard about communities in New Zealand. Such an important topic.
Hi Patricia,
I love that the citizens of the town are behind this initiative even though it puts such a recycling sorting burden on them. It makes me want to try a little harder to recycle too!
Hi, thank you for great subject.🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Thanks Fariba!
What an inspiring community! Over on my blog, we’re celebrating Earth Month with Barefoot Books’ One Book, One Tree campaign. It’s a partnership with a fantastic nonprofit Trees for the Future. For every book purchased in April, Barefoot Books will send seeds across the globe so that families in Africa can plant forest gardens. They’ll not only be able to better protect the soil but also boost their income and increase their food security.
Hi Rebekah,
What a wonderful initiative you and Barefoot Books are doing! I love the One Book, One Tree campaign!
This is fantastic and inspiring. I would love to see more commitment in the U.S. similar to this and a little more innovation instead of being stuck with the status quo. Thank you for sharing this! #ThursdayFavoriteThings
Hi Regina,
Thanks so much for your kind words! They are an inspiration but I think it’s interesting what a big adjustment everyone has to make in terms of recycling to make this work! We have trouble sorting into 2 categories but if that is what it takes, it would be worth learning!
That’s really cool about Kamikatsu! I hope that others start doing such things – and I believe that Kamikatsu is starting it the right way: the best way to spread this is to start on the small towns and move to the bigger cities, in my opinion. 🙂
Hi Erik,
I wonder if that would work in the United States? Maybe if it was a town in Oregon, Maine or Washington State where the people there seem especially environmentally conscious? I know that where I live, my town has to give everyone Trash Bins and Recycling Bins (the big kind) as part of a new mechanical art trash truck system to make everyone recycle. Before, there were recycle bins but the small kind and it was optional. Now, with only one Trash Can and one Recycling Trash Can, you need to recycle because one trash can isn’t enough space for most of us!
That’s great. I wish more cities got behind the initiative. Thanks for sharing with us on Thursday Favorite Things.
Cheers,
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
I hope so too! Thanks for hosting Thursday Favorite Things!
Wow!! Great Share!
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Cheers 🙂
Thanks Thomas!