In order to reduce the overall amount of refuse produced in Japan and promote recycling efforts to protect the environment, nationally and locally many rules and regulations have been established concerning garbage and recyclables, and how they are to be disposed. Some of our international community have found that the rules about garbage, how it is separated, and what is required to dispose of various items can be a little confusing. Depending on where you live you will need specified garbage bags that you can purchase at supermarkets or convenience stores.
Even the Japanese sometimes have trouble deciding the proper way to dispose of things and they must confirm the procedures with their local town hall, etc. When you decide upon where you will live in Japan, please look into the rules for garbage separation and disposal and the local schedule for garbage collection.

Please refer to the International Student Handbook and following URL from Ikoma City Hall for further information about local separation and disposal rules, etc.

Ikoma city hall: http://www.city.ikoma.lg.jp/0000005895.html