Town Ties Linked by Paper Circulation - Background of Nakano Ward's Full Transition to "Collective Collection" (2007)

Town Ties Linked by Paper Circulation - Background of Nakano Ward's Full Transition to "Collective Collection" (2007)

In the mid-200s, Japan's resource recycling policy was at a turning point. In an effort to realize a recycling-oriented society, the government announced a policy of actively supporting "collective collection" by residents' groups and encouraging citizen-participatory recycling.

In Tokyo's 23 wards, used paper had long been collected through both administrative and collective collection, but in October 2006, Nakano Ward announced that from April of the following year, it would discontinue administrative collection throughout the ward, and instead use only collective collection. In April 2007, Nakano Ward actually made the full transition, which was expected to reduce annual costs by approximately 100 million yen.

In the collective collection system, town councils, neighborhood associations, PTAs, and other groups collect newspapers, magazines, and cardboard boxes and deliver them to contractors, with a portion of the proceeds going to community activities. The system was efficient and had a significant effect in raising residents' awareness of participation. From the initial introduction of the system, it was confirmed that there was a decrease in the number of pick-ups and an increase in awareness of the group, and recycling has taken root as a communal activity in daily life.

At the time, the price of used paper soared due to overseas demand from China and other countries, and the rising value of the resource provided a tailwind. The shift from government-led to resident-led initiatives was groundbreaking, and the Nakano Ward model spread to other municipalities, becoming a practical example of linking citizen autonomy and environmental policy.

At the site, comments such as "The children's association helped us" and "Collecting paper is a way to strengthen the town" echoed, and the collective collection went beyond cost savings to weave a story that connects the community and its people.