GARBAGE BAG ART WORK (C) MAQ inc.

People generate a significant amount of garbage as they go about their daily lives. In Japan, people separate their garbage into different types, such as burnable and nonburnable, and place it into semi-clear or transparent bags for disposal. The garbage is collected on particular days of the week in each community, and on these mornings garbage is placed in the appropriate locations on street corners or roadsides. Until the garbage truck comes around to pick them up, mounds of garbage bags on the streets are a common sight in Japan.

GARBAGE BAG ART WORK (C) MAQ inc.

But what if neighborhoods got together and decided to use special bags for their garbage? For example, burnable garbage could be placed in bags decorated with pictures of red flowers, and nonburnable garbage in bags decorated with pictures of blue fish. Every week on garbage days, flower gardens and ocean scenery would appear on street corners instead of plain garbage bags. If garbage were sorted in this way, it might actually look cheerful.