HOKKAIDO - Municipalities across Japan are raising the cost of designated garbage bags as waste disposal expenses increase, with one town in Hokkaido proposing a 4.5-fold price hike from 385 yen to 1,735 yen for a pack of 10 bags, while growing pressure on incineration facilities is prompting debate over whether more cities should introduce paid household garbage collection.
The town of Nanae in Hokkaido is considering raising the price of a pack of ten 45-liter garbage bags from 385 yen to 1,735 yen, increasing the cost per bag from approximately 38 yen to 173 yen. The proposal follows a fire at a nearby waste treatment facility in April 2026 that disrupted garbage incineration services across the surrounding area.
Repairing the damaged facility is expected to cost approximately 10 billion yen, of which Nanae is projected to bear around 2.2 billion yen. The disruption has forced local authorities to consider alternative disposal arrangements, including transporting garbage to other municipalities and securing additional landfill capacity.
Town officials face the challenge of covering rising waste management expenses while encouraging households to reduce the amount of garbage they produce. The proposed increase has yet to take effect, but its scale illustrates the financial pressure facing municipalities responsible for maintaining essential waste disposal infrastructure.
Across Japan, 1,172 municipalities, representing 67.3% of the total, have introduced paid household garbage collection systems. In many areas, residents must purchase officially designated garbage bags, with waste placed in other types of bags generally not collected.
Gifu City introduced a paid garbage bag system in November 2026, replacing its previous free collection arrangements. Under the new system, a pack of ten 45-liter bags costs approximately 500 yen.
However, major cities including Osaka, Yokohama and Tokyo's 23 wards do not currently require residents to purchase designated municipal garbage bags for ordinary household waste. Residents can generally use commercially available bags, including suitable supermarket bags, although requirements concerning transparency, separation and disposal methods vary by municipality and residential building.
The introduction of paid garbage collection has produced measurable results in some communities, particularly by encouraging households to reduce waste and increase recycling.
Hachioji City in western Tokyo introduced charges for household garbage collection in 2004, replacing a system under which residents could dispose of ordinary household waste without paying a separate collection fee.
Following the introduction of the charges, the amount of garbage collected gradually declined, eventually falling to approximately 138,000 tons, while the collection of recyclable materials increased 1.7 times, according to figures presented during the discussion.
The results suggest that charging households directly for garbage disposal can encourage changes in consumer behavior, including purchasing products with less packaging, separating recyclable materials more carefully and reducing food waste.
Higher garbage bag prices can also encourage residents to make fuller use of each bag, including draining moisture from food scraps to reduce their volume. However, excessively packing bags can cause them to tear, creating additional work for collection crews.
Tokyo is also considering whether to expand paid household garbage collection. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's environmental authorities, 18 of the capital's 23 wards have identified the introduction of charges as an issue requiring examination.
Osaka faces a separate challenge as its garbage treatment facilities struggle to maintain sufficient processing capacity because of overlapping maintenance work, equipment failures and facility reconstruction.
Osaka City and three neighboring municipalities share a waste treatment network operated by the Osaka Wide-Area Environmental Facilities Association, which manages seven facilities serving the area.
As of November 5, only three of the seven facilities were operating at full capacity, leaving the regional waste management system under considerable pressure.
The association expects the difficult situation to continue until around December 2026 and has warned that additional equipment failures could further strain the system.
The timing is particularly concerning because household garbage volumes tend to rise toward the end of the year, when residents undertake major cleaning and disposal activities ahead of the New Year holidays.
Although Osaka City has not announced plans to introduce paid designated garbage bags, the pressure on its waste treatment facilities has raised the possibility that such a system could eventually be considered as a measure to reduce household waste.
Charging for garbage disposal could help lower the volume of waste requiring incineration by encouraging consumers to avoid unnecessary packaging and make greater use of recycling services.
However, higher collection charges also carry risks, including illegal dumping and the unauthorized disposal of garbage in neighboring municipalities where collection remains free.
These problems mean that charging for garbage collection cannot be regarded as a complete solution to the growing challenges facing local waste management systems.
The broader issue is how municipalities should distribute the increasing financial burden of waste treatment among residents. Repairing existing facilities, building new incinerators, expanding landfill capacity and transporting waste to alternative locations all require substantial public expenditure.
Introducing higher garbage bag charges effectively shifts a greater share of those costs directly onto households, while maintaining free collection generally requires municipalities to cover expenses through taxation and other public revenues.
The situation in Nanae has highlighted how a single incident at a waste treatment facility can lead to significant additional costs for residents, while the difficulties facing Osaka demonstrate the vulnerability of municipal garbage collection systems when several facilities become unavailable simultaneously.
With waste treatment infrastructure aging and operating expenses rising, more municipalities across Japan could face difficult decisions over whether to increase household garbage charges, invest additional public funds in disposal facilities or pursue stronger measures to reduce the amount of waste generated.
Source: KTV NEWS
