Japan to help local govts support elderly in garbage disposal

September 12, 2017

TOKYO- Japan's Environment Ministry is set to support local governments in helping elderly people put out their garbage, by allowing municipalities across the nation to share relevant know-how.

Specifically, the ministry will hear within fiscal 2018 starting next April experiences from municipalities that already have garbage-related assistance programs for the elderly and compile innovative examples into a booklet, ministry officials said.

Such programs are expected to not only help elderly people who cannot take their garbage to collection sites because of walking difficulties but also allow municipalities to confirm the safety of elderly residents, they said.

To implement the initiative, the ministry sought 18 million yen under the government's budget for the coming fiscal year.

The ministry will ask more than 10 municipalities with assistance programs about issues such as staffing problems and how to link their programs with similar existing services.

According to a 2015 survey by the Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management Research, an affiliate of the National Institute for Environmental Studies, only 22.9 percent of the 1,741 cities, wards, towns and villages in Japan had garbage-related assistance programs for senior citizens.

Meanwhile, 39 percent of the municipalities without such programs said that they want to consider following suit in the future. Jiji Press