Part 1
How many tons of waste is thrown away per year in Japan?
Over 400 million tons
Why did ordinary people in the Edo period buy old clothes or recycle them?
Because clothes were so precious and expensive.
What did the metal collectors sing while walking around town?
"Let's exchange, let's exchange."
What stopped Japan from expanding agricultural production?
Floods
Why did the Japanese have to be self-sufficient in all aspects of life?
Because of the national policy of isolation / 鎖国
When were the SDGs set up?
2015
What were the ashes of burnt clothes used for?
Fertilizers, dyes, detergents, or sold to ash buyers.
What was recycled in the Edo period that may be surprising?
Human waste.
How many people lived in Japan at the start of the Edo period?
12 million people.
What does "mottainai" mean?
"Just enough is enough" or "what a waste."
What society do we live in that makes us throw away a huge amount of waste?
Mass production and mass consumption society
What happened with printed papers in the Edo period?
It was passed on from one generation to another.
What was part of normal life that there was no word for it in Edo Japan?
Recycling
What happened at the start of the Edo period?
Many trees were cut down in the mountains for timber.
Everything was treated as what in Edo Japan?
Everything was treated as a valuable resource.
What did the people in the Edo period achieve and how?
A sustainable society.
They recycled almost every resource, reducing damage to the environment to a minimum.
List all products in part 2 that were recycled/repaired.
Clothes, paper, and household articles.
What did farmers offer in return for human waste?
Money or vegetables they grew.
What caused farmland to extend and become more productive?
Decrease in flooding.
What mentality did the Japanese have during the Edo period?
Respected modesty and hated to waste things.
How many SDGs are there and what is Goal 12?
17 goals.
"Responsible Consumption and Production" plus "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns."
Where did recycled paper come from?
Recycled paper came from used papers sold to paper buyers who resold to paper makers.
At least how many jobs involving reusing and recycling existed in the Edo period?
At least 10 jobs.
How many million people lived in the late Edo period?
How many times larger was the population than in the early Edo period?
About 30 million people.
2.5 times larger.
Why did people need to recycle what they had?
Because there were very limited goods and materials in Japan.