Tokyo Garbage Sorting Guide 2026: Burnable, Recyclable, Sodai Gomi Rules

Tokyo has one of the most detailed waste sorting systems in the world. If you've just moved to one of its 23 wards — Shibuya, Shinjuku, Setagaya, Minato, or anywhere else — you've probably already seen those bright yellow stickers that get slapped on incorrectly sorted bags. This guide will make sure you never get one.

TL;DR: Tokyo waste = 4 categories (burnable, non-burnable, recyclables, oversized) + ward-specific rules. Get the GomiSense app to scan any item and know exactly where it goes.

The 4 Core Categories

1. Burnable Waste (燃えるゴミ / 可燃ごみ)

Bag color: typically translucent or ward-issued Collection: 2× per week in most wards

What goes in:

• Food scraps and kitchen waste (drained)
• Paper that can't be recycled (greasy, soiled, tissues)
• Wood, leather, rubber, small fabrics
• Plastic items only in some wards — e.g. Setagaya treats most plastic as burnable, while Shibuya separates plastic packaging

2. Non-Burnable Waste (燃えないゴミ / 不燃ごみ)

Collection: 1–2× per month

What goes in:

• Glass, ceramics, broken plates
• Small metal items (under 30 cm)
• Light bulbs (wrap broken ones in paper)
• Aluminum foil, dry batteries (in some wards — others want them in resource collection)

3. Recyclables (資源 / リサイクル)

Collection: 1× per week, separated into sub-categories

Sub-categories you'll see:

• PET bottles — rinse, remove cap and label, crush
• Plastic packaging (プラ) — clean food trays, wrappers
• Cans (缶) — aluminum + steel together, rinsed
• Glass bottles (びん) — rinsed, by color in some wards
• Paper / Cardboard (紙) — flatten boxes, tie newspapers with string

4. Oversized Waste (粗大ごみ)

Anything over 30 cm in any direction.

This is where most expats trip up. You cannot just throw out a chair, suitcase, or futon. You must:

1. Call your ward's oversized waste center (or use their online form)
2. Pay a fee (typically ¥300–¥3,000 depending on the item)
3. Buy a sodai gomi sticker at a convenience store
4. Stick it on the item and put it out on the appointed day

Ward-by-Ward Differences (Top 10)

Ward	Plastic	Bag Type	Special Notes
Shibuya	Separate	Translucent	Strict on label removal
Shinjuku	Separate	Translucent	Bilingual signage
Setagaya	With burnable	Translucent	Largest ward — many sub-rules
Minato	Separate	Translucent	Strict on PET
Meguro	Separate	Translucent	Stickers strict
Nakano	Separate	Translucent	Battery resource bin
Suginami	Separate	Translucent	Compost campaigns
Toshima	Separate	Translucent	Strict on cardboard tying
Bunkyo	Separate	Translucent	Glass by color
Chiyoda	Separate	Translucent	Office-heavy rules

Rules can change. Always check your local gomi calendar — or just open the GomiSense app and let it tell you.

Collection Days: The Survival Rule

Put your trash out the morning of collection — not the night before.

In Tokyo this is enforced. Crows, cats, and inspectors all check. Most wards collect:

• Burnable: Mon + Thu (or Tue + Fri)
• Recyclables: Wed
• Non-burnable: 2nd & 4th Tuesday (varies)

Set your alarm for 6:30 AM on collection days, take the bag down to your designated shūsekijo (collection point), and you're done.

The 5 Most Common Expat Mistakes

1. Throwing PET bottles in burnable bags — instant sticker
2. Not removing the label and cap from bottles — they get rejected
3. Putting trash out the night before — wildlife shreds it, neighbors complain
4. Mixing batteries with non-burnable — many wards want them in a separate resource bin
5. Forgetting that anything over 30 cm is sodai gomi — you can't just leave a chair on the curb

How GomiSense Solves This

Memorizing all of this is impossible — especially because rules differ per ward and change every year. That's exactly why we built GomiSense.

• Snap a photo of any item
• Our AI tells you the exact category and which day to put it out
• Get morning push reminders on collection days
• Works in English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Turkish

Download GomiSense free and never get another yellow sticker. → Get the app

Final Tips

• Keep a small set of pre-sorted bins in your kitchen (burnable / PET / plastic / cans-glass)
• Save your ward's gomi calendar PDF on your phone — or better, use the app
• When in doubt, scan it. Wrong sorting in Tokyo is a real social signal — and now there's no excuse.

Welcome to Tokyo. Sort with confidence. 💙