Kamikatsu is a tiny village of 2,000 people in the densely wooded mountains of Shikoku islandPhotograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceSonae Fujii of the Zero Waste Academy in Kamikatsu stands next to containers filled with waste ready for recycling at the Hibigaya Waste StationPhotograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceA resident divides up her bottles into clear, brown and other coloured bottles at the waste disposal sitePhotograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelance
Household waste must be separated into 34 categories, including tin cans ...Photograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceSake bottles are given their own separate disposal box ...Photograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelance... as a re lighters and electric razorsPhotograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceA local resident disposes of cardboard boxesPhotograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceYasuo Goto, 75, sweeps up as part of his job at the waste disposal sitePhotograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceA sign points residents to the nappy and sanitary towel disposal zonePhotograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceEach of the containers for different waste items are numbered, with samples of the kinds of trash for clarity and labels with descriptions on how the contents are recycledPhotograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceKikue Nii does some tidying up in her extensive vegetable patch. Like all residents she composts all her households kitchen leftoversPhotograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceKikue Nii drops food scraps into her electric composter Photograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceKikue Nii hangs out washed milk cartons, tofu containers and plastic bags to dry at her homePhotograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelanceA sign saying "Zero waste by 2020", the stated intention of the village Photograph: Robert Gilhooly/freelance
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.