Eric vs. Ueda Garbage Collection, Pt. 1

If you've ever been to Japan, you know trash over here generally gets separated into two categories: burnable and non-burnable. Sometimes, the third category of recyclable is there too, but that is also part of non-burnable usually. Despite understanding the above very well in previous residences, the garbage collection agency in Ueda have not made my disposing of garbage very easy. When I look at the color coordinated trash map they gave me, I see at least seven different categories of trash, all of which have their own day, place, and colored bag to be thrown away in. So I put some real time into it and studied the map very closely, buying all of the different colored bags (yes, we have to buy them, and guess who makes them...), and checking the calendar to see what day is what. I was glad to get so much of the trash out of my apartment, since a lot of it had been left over by the previous teacher (his things, not his trash). So, you can understand my frustration when I got a knock on my door and had all of my trash returned to me for being put out in the wrong bag, or on the wrong day, or at the wrong place. Apparently there's a recycle center we have to take our recycling to ourselves, while the garbage collectors collect the non-recyclable things. Oh, except for plastic bottles. They can take those too on the non-burnable non-recyclable day. Whatever you do, don't think for one second they'll take any other recycling on that day, it's your job to take bottles, cans, and cardboard to the recycle center yourself. Oh, and make sure you use the separate green bag that says "recycle" on it only for plastic bottles. Or else, all hell breaks loose.
So since having my trash returned to me, most of it has been sitting outside on my little balcony, and will probably do so until I figure out what to do with it. With work and so many errands on the weekends, as well as general frustration with the system, I haven't been able to properly get rid of it, whatever that my entail.
Let's get one thing straight: I'm all for being environmentally friendly and all for assimilating into the community. Those things are fine, I'll do my best. But do these garbage collectors care more about the colors of the bags than actually collecting what's in them? After this first encounter, it definitely seems that way. In my Japanese reading class last year in Kyoto, we read an article that was kind of a social commentary about how a lot of people here follow rules and structure very seriously, and often forget to be "flexible" or "adjust to the situation". Maybe quite a few people are like that, but just like anywhere, there are all kinds. I'd like to make it known that there are two people at my school that run the show, and while one loves rules and is quite serious about them, the other wears goofy ties to work (we're not supposed to), never shows any anger if you forget something, and pulls out his shirt and puts on slippers after the last class of the day when we're in the office. So just like anywhere, there are all kinds.
In a somewhat related note, speaking of following rules, apparently there is a ramen shop in the town next us that has a bunch of rules, the main one being that people aren't allowed to talk. I immediately thought of The Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, so I'll have to try out this Ramen Nazi sometime and report back.