Rubbish in Tokyo: sorting rules and collection days

Forget the red bin and the yellow bin. In Tokyo, rubbish has a timetable, a dress code and an audience.

The short version

Each of Tokyo's 23 wards sets its own rules. Most split rubbish into burnable, non-burnable, recyclable plastic, and resources such as paper, bottles, cans and PET bottles [1][3].
Put rubbish out by 8 am on the collection day, never the night before [1][3].
Burnable rubbish goes twice a week, non-burnable only twice a month, and plastics and resources weekly [1][3].
Anything about 30 cm or longer on one side is oversized rubbish (sodai gomi). You book it and pay with a ticket from a convenience store [1][2][3].
TVs, fridges, air conditioners and washing machines aren't collected by the ward at all [1].

What's different from home

In Australia, your council collects a wheelie bin from the kerb once a week, and your rates pay for it. Recycling is one big yellow-lid bin, and you might get 10 cents back for cans and bottles through a container deposit scheme.

Tokyo flips most of that:

There are no wheelie bins. You put bags or loose items at a shared collection point, often a netted corner of the street or a bin room in your building.
Household collection is free, apart from oversized items [1]. There are no council rates in the Australian sense.
Sorting is much finer. Paper alone splits into newspapers, magazines, cardboard and drink cartons, each bundled separately [1].
Timing is strict. One category per day, out by 8 am [1][3].
People notice. Shared collection points mean your neighbours and building manager see exactly what you put out.

Shinjuku's living guide for foreign residents says it plainly: rubbish rule breaches are a common cause of neighbour disputes and can even lead to requests to move out [1]. Sorting properly is part of being a good tenant.

The categories, using Shinjuku and Minato as examples

Rules vary by ward, so treat this as a typical picture and check your own ward's guide.

Category	What goes in	How often	Key rules
Burnable (moeru gomi)	Food scraps, dirty paper, wood, rubber, leather, nappies, mixed-material or dirty plastics [1]	Twice a week [1][3]	Clear or semi-transparent bag or a container [1]
Non-burnable (moenai gomi)	Metal, ceramics, glass, small appliances [1]	Twice a month [1][3]	Wrap broken glass and sharps in thick paper marked kiken (dangerous) [1]
Recyclable plastic	Clean packaging with the plastic mark; in Shinjuku also all-plastic items up to 30 cm [1][3]	Weekly [1][3]	Rinse; dirty items go in burnable [1][3]
Paper	Newspapers, magazines, cardboard, drink cartons [1]	Weekly [1]	Tie each type with string; collected in the rain [1]
Bottles and cans	Food and drink glass and cans [1]	Weekly [1]	Rinse; separate bags [1]
PET bottles	Drink bottles with the PET mark [1]	Weekly [1]	Rinse, crush; caps and labels go to plastics [1]
Hazardous items	Spray cans, gas canisters, batteries [1]	Varies [1][3]	Use them up first; lithium-ion batteries to shop collection boxes in Minato [3]

A few that surprise Australians:

Pizza boxes are burnable, not paper, because of the grease. So are paper cups, receipts and window envelopes [1].
A greasy plastic tray is burnable even if it has the recycling mark. Only clean plastic counts [1][3].
Lighters go out separately and empty [1].
Price stickers can stay on plastics in Minato [3].

In bigger apartment buildings, you may see colour-coded crates: in Shinjuku, yellow for bottles, blue for cans, green for spray cans and batteries, and blue nets for PET bottles [1].

Step by step: getting it right in your first week

Get your ward's guide. Ask for the English rubbish leaflet when you register your address. Shinjuku and Minato both publish English guides [1][3].
Find your collection calendar. Days differ by street, not just by ward. Minato publishes a calendar by area [3]. Your building may post one at the bin room.
Find your collection point. Ask your agent, building manager or a neighbour. It's often marked with a sign and a net to keep the crows out.
Set up three or four bins at home. One for burnables, one for clean plastics, one for cans, bottles and PET, and a paper pile. Under-sink sorting bins sell at any homewares shop.
Rinse as you go. A quick swish under the tap before things hit the bin saves a sticky job later.
Put it out on the morning. By 8 am, never the night before [3]. Some areas in Minato have a 7:30 am deadline [4].
Download an app if your ward has one. Shinjuku points residents to a "3R" sorting app [1].

The sticker of shame: when your bag comes back

Get it wrong, and your bag may not be taken. Collectors in many wards leave behind wrongly sorted rubbish, often with a bright warning sticker saying why. Minato's guide is clear that recyclables containing rubbish or liquid aren't collected, and nor are oversized items without a ticket [3].

What happens next depends on your building:

In a small building, the bag sits there until someone deals with it. Usually, that's you.
In a managed building, the manager may open it to find out whose it is (addressed envelopes give you away), then knock on your door or leave a polite note.
In a share house, the landlord or operator may pass on complaints from neighbours.

If your bag comes back, don't just leave it. Take it inside, re-sort it, and put it out on the right day. If you're unsure why it was refused, the sticker usually names the category. A photo through a translation app does the rest.

Oversized rubbish: booking and paying

Anything around 30 cm or longer on any side counts as oversized (sodai gomi): furniture, bedding, bikes, suitcases, bigger electrical items [1][2][3].

How it works

Book. Apply online or by phone to your ward's oversized rubbish centre. Shinjuku's runs Monday to Saturday, 8 am to 7 pm, with online booking around the clock [1]. Shinagawa and Minato work the same way [2][3].
Pay. You're told the fee and given a reception number. Buy the ward's oversized rubbish tickets at a convenience store, supermarket or other shop showing the sign [2][3]. Shinagawa also accepts card payment online [2].
Label. Write the collection date and your reception number on each ticket and stick it to the item [2][3].
Put it out. Leave it at the agreed spot by 8 am on collection day [1][2][3].

What it costs

Fees depend on the item. Minato's fee chart runs from a few hundred yen up to ¥3,200 for the biggest items, and items longer than 210 cm generally can't be collected [3]. Shinagawa's example fee for a futon is ¥400 [2]. Dropping items off yourself on a Sunday is cheaper in both Shinagawa and Minato [2][3].

What the ward won't take

TVs, fridges and freezers, air conditioners, washing machines and dryers fall under Japan's home appliance recycling law. Ask the shop you're buying a replacement from, or the shop you bought it from, to take it. Otherwise, call the 23-ward appliance recycling centre. You pay a recycling fee plus a collection fee [1].
Computers go back to the manufacturer or an authorised recycler [1].
Paint, oil, tyres, car batteries, fire extinguishers and pianos aren't collected either [1][2].

Moving out of Tokyo

Rubbish is the thing people forget until the last week. Oversized bookings can be full for days or weeks, especially in March and around New Year. Minato, for example, stopped regular collection from 31 December 2025 to 3 January 2026 and warned that late oversized bookings might miss out [4].

Plan it like this:

Six weeks out: list everything big. Sell or give away what you can.
Four weeks out: book oversized collection and arrange appliance pickup.
Last week: clear burnables on your last collection day, and don't leave bags behind for the landlord. Leftover rubbish can come out of your deposit.

Our renting in Tokyo guide covers getting that deposit back.

Leaving a fridge and a futon behind? Post them in Cooee Japan, our Facebook group for Australians in Japan. The next arrival will probably take them off your hands.

Rubbish in Tokyo: sorting rules, collection days and the sticker of shame