Can collection

well packed.

Well, if whomever 'collected' these cans (ie. stole them from bins) is homeless s/he can make a pretty penny. What cracks me up are the dudes that drive around in cars all day to steal the cans, wasting a bunch of money on gasoline.

i see that homeless guy smoking... i am not homeless but i don't smoke because it is too expensive.... i'm glad he can afford it.

I see this everyday.

I noticed that they only take aluminum cans, and not steel.

Who says they're homeless? Or that the cans are stolen? Recycling aluminium cans is big business in Japan, saves a heap of environmental pollution from smelting new aluminium. My local government collects cans twice a month, and the Kodomokai is allowed to skim off the aluminium; the proceeds go to finance kiddy activities.

When people who can't be bothered to sort dump their aluminium cans in the ordinary 'throw-away' rubbish, the neigbourhood baba picks them out and puts them in the recycle pile where they belong.

When people who can't be bothered to sort dump their aluminium cans in the ordinary 'throw-away' rubbish, the neigbourhood baba picks them out and puts them in the recycle pile where they belong.

Is this still happening? We get a nice sticker put on our garbage bag if it isn't sorted correctly and they leave it there until you sorted it.

I drop my cans, bottles & newspapers to the local school, they get to make a bit & I get to drop off whenever I want, works great.

As for the pic, its great if these people can make a few yen off Japans legions of litterbugs!

yah these people are actually doing great work. IF we didnt have these people, Japan would be a MESS. I didnt know they only get 500 yen per bag, is that true? source? 500 yen is way too little.

@cleo see the blue screen in the back, that is a sure sign that homeless people live there, ooops i forgot the official statement is that there are no homeless people in japan

Dennis, the presence of blue sheets and homeless people in the park doesn't necessarily mean the people collecting the cans are homeless (though I don't see it matters if they are, good for then if it gets them a bit of cash), or more importantly, that they are stealing the cans. If they are taking them out of bins containing other rubbish, then they're doing a public service.

that's Ueno koen. I used to go to work through there, here were these homeless-looking dudes every moring having their 8:30 beer. it always made me wonder who has a better life :) they also had a few cat pets

Cleo: "Or that the cans are stolen?"

I don't think people are saying they are homeless. I know I said IF whomever is stealing the cans is homeless... as for 'stealing' and 'skimming' a few there is a subtle distinction. The ten large bins outside my apartment complex are for my apartment building and the five others surrounding, and there are a number of signs saying not to 'selfishly take the cans for personal profit'. The money from the cans is supposed to go to our community, but since many of these can thieves are just plain lazy it's a one stop shopping trip for them and they load their bicycles with 5 or more giant bags before coming back to do so again. They usually do it at night so they don't have to ignore the cleaning staff or local PTA that reside in the buildings.

On the flip-side, since you mentioned it, I also don't respect people who just dump garbage into the small bins beside vending machines that are clearly for PET bottles and cans, nor do I respect those who fail to sort out their rubbish, leaving it to whomever's responsibility it is to clean the garbage collection place that month.

Let's see ... I think that some of our (your) local tax money is used in the pick up of aluminum cans. If these people of the street take those cans out of the recycle bin that is sponsored by the local government, aren't they stealing from the government?

The same goes for newspapers that are put out for recycling by government-run pick-up operations. Everytime the papers are put out, guys in white trucks race to pick them up. Then when the blue government-backed trucks come by, the only thing left is cardboard.

Is our hard-earned tax money being wasted somehow ... yet again ... ??

If these people of the street take those cans out of the recycle bin that is sponsored by the local government, aren't they stealing from the government?

Where in that photo is there any suggestion that the cans are being taken out of the recycling bins by 'people of the street', or anyone else in fact? Why could it not be that the people who are paid out of the taxes to collect the cans have collected the cans and lined them up in big plastic bags ready to be taken away?

Yes, the newspaper people do come around at night nicking old newspapers, but this is in broad daylight in a public park, with presumably lots of people around. Why can't they just be cans bagged up ready for collection?

who are you to judge ?

Judge? He is guarding this week's salary! good on ya mate! you get bugger all help from the J-Gov.

Trust me, Cleo.... old guy, aluminum cans and blue tarps... homeless!

Man takes a break from work while Shacho typically goofs off with a newspaper on the floor hiding behind the blue tarp.

Back in 1995 when my son was in kindergarten in Tochigi, his school ran a fund drive by collecting aluminum cans. It was said to fetch 10 yen. And I agree, those plastic bags are not lined up for collection. Amazing how neatly packed they are. In my country, they are sold by the kilo. Hence some wily homeless people would intentionally put rocks inside the can to make it weigh more.

Depending upon the location and timing aluminum for recycling sells for roughly 110 to 130 yen per kilo. A bag that size probably weighs at least 10 kilo. There are different grades of aluminum as well. But are too bulky for guys on bikes to haul.

I do recycling as a volunteer for one of my son's "eco" activities and besides aluminum, steel, paper, cardboard and PET bottles are recyclable as well but for those you need a ton to make any money on.

Some locations in larger cities have made it a crime to take the cans and stuff left out for trash. The municipalities count on the money they receive for recycling to help cover the trash removal costs.

Living downtown as I do, it’s not uncommon to see homeless men rummaging through the garbage in search of empty cans. Some of the more industrious of these vagabonds can amass such a stash of crushed cans—all crammed into large plastic bags and lashed together on the backs of bicycles—that from a distance they can look like camels accoutered for an expedition.

It always made me wonder how much a vagrant could earn in this manner so I was delighted when a local news program did a story on the city’s homeless.

One kilogram of used cardboard, according to the reporter, can be sold to the scrapyard for about seven yen, or just under a buck (US), meaning that even the most determined homeless man can only earn about two hundred yen ($2.50) a day. Every kilo of aluminum cans, on the other hand, brings in ¥140. After collecting cans all day long, a hobo might make about ¥1000 ($13), or enough to buy a bentô and perhaps a couple cans of happôshu.

A friend told me that one of the happier moments in a homeless man’s foraging life is when he comes across an alluminum alloy wheel for a car. One wheel in good condition can be sold for about ¥500 ($6.40).

My only gripe with these guys are the ones who rummage through the bins and leave without replacing the lid to the bin...

My only gripe with these guys are the ones who rummage through the bins and leave without replacing the lid to the bin.

Then leave the cans outside the bin and save yourself the gripe. Seriously how hard is it to put the lid back? I understand your gripe but is it really THAT big of a deal?