ZERO WASTE

A small town in Japan has become famous for its zero waste plan.

This latest in Drummond’s Green Power series, which explores successful sustainability projects, highlights a Japanese town committed to careful recycling, reuse of what they have, and reduction of further purchasing. As always, he tells his story in ways that will connect with his audience. Using clear, conversational prose punctuated with cheerful, color-washed pen-and-ink drawings and even some speech bubbles, he describes two children’s visit to their grandmother in Kamikatsu. They help her sort her recycling into different bins: nine for paper, six for plastic, five for metals, six for glass, and so on—nearly 50 different kinds of waste in all! Along the way, they learn about the differences among the materials. Grandma introduces and translates several relevant Japanese proverbs. Later, they visit the massive public recycling center, and Grandma recaps the history of the town’s zero waste project. As a young mother (clad in flowered bell-bottoms), she, too, unthinkingly threw trash away. But after the town’s dump and incinerator were deemed environmentally hazardous and closed, she and others began to work to reduce their waste stream. Their goal was to become a zero waste town by 2020. They recycle more than 80% of their waste and have become a model known around the world. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Charmingly encourages our own environmental efforts.