Earthquakes can be a bit like sex: the movement is sudden and exciting, but the cleanup is a long, hard slog. As part of the latter, Kumamoto Prefecture with the help of aid from the national government had purchased at a cost of 1.5 billion yen a custom-made waste disposal machine able to effectively separate and prepare for recycling multiple materials (wood, metal, plastic, glass).
Anyway, it’s job here is done. お疲れ様でした。However, as it is not adaptable to standard refuse recycling, its future was in question until a group of 12 local waste disposal companies which form a union stepped in to purchase it for 3 million yen. They will store it for up to three years (at a cost of some 5 million yen annually) in the anticipation that it will soon be needed elsewhere, at which time they will donate it.
One would hope it will not be needed again, but sadly, it likely will, and when it is, it will be delivered and assembled promptly, all thanks to the Kumamoto Waste Disposal Union. Next time you see your local garbage collector, give him a tip o’ the hat. An image of the device is below. - William (Apologies for the sex joke, but an article like this requires a good lede.)
