It’s been raining since this morning. The rain isn’t very strong, but compared to yesterday, the air feels a bit chilly. Today is Sunday, and actually, there was supposed to be a recycling event called the “Environment Fair” in the town next to my workshop, but it was canceled early this morning because of the weather. This event collects items from households that are no longer needed but still fairly new, and later those items are either sold or donated. My family had also prepared some unwanted kitchenware to bring there. It seems the event will be held again on another day.
Also today, there’s another recycling event in my own town. It has a rather unique name—the “Treasure Mountain Festival.” It’s a similar kind of event, but today is the selling day. It’s being held at the same center where I took my bulky waste yesterday. Items that were previously brought in and are still usable, as well as donated goods, are sold there at low prices. There are also tours of the recycling center and food stalls, so it’s always lively every year. Since much of it is held indoors, it’s taking place even in the rain. Around this time of year, many events like these are organized by local governments.
As I wrote yesterday, another way to dispose of unwanted items is to take them to a regular recycle shop. These kinds of stores have been increasing in recent years, and you can find them in many places. Personally, I tend to buy more than I sell—I recently bought a few small appliances, like an electric heater and a fan. They were almost brand new. These shops usually handle smaller items because they don’t accept used products that are too old or large appliances that have been used for many years. Very old items with no resale value can be taken by the local government, but business-type shops won’t take them. So most of what’s sold in these stores are things like books, CDs, clothes, and hobby items. As you can see in the photo, I sold some unused notebooks, books, and CDs. About one-third of them weren’t accepted. Items that aren’t popular, are missing accessories, or are magazines are usually rejected. Each shop has its own standards, so some stores may accept what others don’t. One shop I often go to is called “Book Off,” a nationwide chain in Japan. Depending on the store type, they also buy and sell toys, musical instruments, plastic models, and figures. You can often find rare Japanese items there, so it’s popular among visitors from overseas too. Many tourists stop by when they visit Japan. https://www.bookoff.co.jp/inbound/
And as for the “results” of my recent visit to sell those items—I brought about one carton box of things, and as I mentioned above, about one-third of them were returned to me. In total, I received 1,200 yen. Well, it’s not much, but I’m happy if those items can still be useful to someone instead of just being thrown away! 😊
